Kitsune's Natural Eyes
by Uzumaki Shurochka
Summary: Kami has chosen Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto to be the bearer of a new kekkei genkai, but responsibility for the details and delivery are given to Kyuubi, due to her 'special bond' with Naruto that has been seen coming. Undecided pairings.
1. Gifted

**Disclaimer: **It wasn't me! I didn't ever claim to own Naruto! I'm innocent I tell ya. Innocent!

**Opening A/N: **Hey, this is Uzumaki Shurochka, sending you the first chapter of your Number 2 most requested fanfic from me (according to the poll on my profile, anyway), #6 - Kitsune's Natural Eyes. This chapter was finished 7-6-09, 1:00 AM. I was going to wait to release it until chapter 4 of #2 - Banished with a Bloodline got put up, but I decided to not make you wait when this story, with no chapters up, surpassed #2, with 3 chapters up, in the poll on my profile. Enjoy.

Kami's Palace

In the middle of the 'office' in which Kami sat, a bit behind the chair opposite her at her desk, was a pool. The vast majority of the time, this pool was filled with seemingly regular water, yet this pool was responsible for helping restore balance to the once chaotic world of the ningen.

Once, before the days of the Six Paths Sage, there were countless kekkei genkai and countless clans covering the world. The kekkei genkai would randomly mix and produce unexpected, frequently negative side effects. This had been due to many of the lesser divine and demonic beings granting their followers kekkei genkai - in order to bolster their own following - without considering all possible effects.

They had been doing so to circumvent the rule. The rule that forbid any divine or demonic being from forcing their views or codes upon unwilling beings via threats or force. This rule 'guaranteed' the people of the ningen world a measure of free will. In order to circumvent that, they had been offering gifts to any who would willingly follow their way, since there were no rules against persuasion by friendlier approaches.

In the end, Kami had realized that the ningen world was going to annihilate itself in short order. To prevent this, Kami, along with twelve other higher beings sealed all kekkei genkai in the world, and then - to restore order - each one of them had gifted a single individual with a kekkei genkai of their own design. Kami herself handed down the Rin'neggan to the man who would become known as the Six Paths Sage. To guarantee stability in all future kekkei genkai, Kami had created the Well of Empowerment and rewritten some of the laws of the universe.

Basically, before the lesser beings had simply filtered some of their own energy through special crystals that determined what the general type of kekkei genkai was while focusing on what the details of it would be and then push that energy into the body of the new kekkei genkai wielder. This was fine in the short term, but it relied on the energy - and a tiny piece of the soul - of the being who gave it to remain stable. Whenever kekkei genkai would mix, instability would erupt as the pieces of souls inside the children would be in constant conflict to decide who was supreme.

The Well of Empowerment was an ethereal being Kami created to resolve this conflict. She created it so it's sole purpose was to maintain the stability of the gift it was placed with, and a piece of it's soul would replace a piece of the giver's, so even when kekkei genkai mixed, the instability problems of before wouldn't occur again. The original 13 true kekkei genkai each were handed down 1/13th of it's soul with the well itself being the anchor for the core of the soul itself - the spirit - and the beings who did this expected they'd never be giving another kekkei genkai again. The special crystals used in helping make the kekkei genkai were collected and locked away in a vault in Kami's palace, to prevent any lesser beings from starting the problems all over again.

Then something unexpected happened. A large chunk of the Well's soul returned.

When the thirteen beings gathered to question it upon this, they learned something astounding - the soul of the humans were learning to stabilize the gifts themselves, subconsciously. Since it was no longer needed to stabilize the gifts, pieces of the soul of the Well would return over time. The 13 realized that this meant that every so often a new kekkei genkai could possibly be given to the ningen world. The group of them then agreed - after much discussion - that each time a large enough piece of the Well's soul came back to the Well, they would rotate the privilege of handing down a new gift, either directly or via their subordinates. Kami set the Well up so the water would glow with an aqua colored light whenever this happened every twenty to forty years.

Like it was glowing right now.

Looking at the glow, Kami smiled. _'I've been waiting for this day. It's my turn to bestow a gift upon my chosen family again. I already have them picked out, too.'_

As Kami held her hand out while passing the Well, the glowing piece of its soul jumped from the water and into her hand. Continuing in her walk, Kami heads towards the top floor of her palace, towards the vaults.

Bloodline Genesis Crystal Storage Vault

Looking over the options of types of kekkei genkai, Kami considered what kinds the home village of the person she'd be giving this gift already had in it. They had two doujutsu - one with elemental affinity for fire and one with chakra enhancement - two nature affinities, a nearly extinct elemental affinity, two psi-type kekkei genkai, a body manipulation type, and a few chakra enhancements/manipulations. (1)

Looking it over, Kami decided to go a unique route, something never done before in the ningen world. A doujutsu with a nature affinity (a nature affinity, in this fic, is an affinity with a particular part of nature, usually a particular animal). Now she simply had to decide who to send to deliver the gift, seeing as the chaos that entering the ningen world personally would cause would be enormous.

Quickly remembering a high-ranked subordinate who hadn't been to the ningen world in a couple hundred years, due to her unique passive powers, Kami decided it was time her pet got a chance to at least look at the ningen world. Even if she wouldn't be able to visit there herself, she would at least be able to decide the details of the kekkei genkai and choose someone else to deliver it.

At the Gates of Heaven

Kami walked just outside the gates and looked to the left, spotting Juubi right away.

Juubi was in her human form, standing at 6'4" and wearing a golden robe with silver clouds travelling accross it. Her wolfish ears on top of her head and the ten wolf tails behind her were all a frost white, while her long straight hair was a jet black. She had blue eyes and dark toned skin, and she sat in front of the gates, gazing wistlessly out at the expanse beyond.

"Juubi-chan!" The ten-tailed wolf looked over at Kami at the sound of her voice. "I've got a special task for you." This got the Juubi's full attention, and a look of hopefulness from the wolfish woman. Kami held out the hand that had the bloodline genesis storage crystal with the piece of the Well's soul in it out to the Juubi, prompting a stunned look from the Juubi.

"Kami-sama... is that...?'

"Yep." Kami's eyes were in the upside down U's and her mouth was in a broad smile as she confirmed it. "This will be going to a soon-to-be-born boy named Namikaze Naruto, and I've decided to give _you_ the privilege of deciding the details of his gift as well as how you'll be delivering it to him, seeing as you can't go down to do so yourself." Juubi began to look depressed at that reminder, so Kami was quick to say what she did next. "And since you'll be responsible for the gifting of a mortal in the near future, you'll be allowed to enter the Chamber of Perception in order to perceive the near future in his world as it deals with him. I know how much you want to see the ningen world, so I figured you would like this chance to do so."

Kami found herself in a powerful hug almost immediately, and it took her several minutes to get her 'pet' to calm down. Finally, a teary eyed Juubi pulled back some from Kami and accepted the crystal with a bow before taking off for the Chamber of Perception.

Chamber of Perception

Entering the Chamber, Juubi walked to the fountain in the middle of the room and sat in a large comfortable chair facing it. Then, looking into the flowing water, she focused her mind on the thoughts of 'Konoha' and 'near future'. At first, no images of any real interest moved through the water, but suddenly, the water shifted to a conversation taking place between a group of men in black cloaks adorned with red clouds.

_"So we will enact the ritual tonight? Konoha will finally fall..." _A pale man with long black hair and snake-like eyes was the one to speak those words, and they seemed to bring him great joy.

_"Yes. Be sure to bring your portion of the sacrifices. We'll need at least nineteen hundred human sacrifices to pull off the ritual."_

Juubi's eyes widened. _'What kind of ritual are they planning?'_

_"Why so many? It wasn't easy getting this many, even though we only took a few here and a few there and kept them over the years..."_ This was spoken by a figure whose head was completely engulfed in the shadows, hiding all identifiable features he had, though his voice was definitely that of a man.

Juubi's eyes narrowed at this. _'So they've been preparing to sacrifice almost two thousand people for years, eh?'_

_"One hundred sacrifices to break the barrier, nine hundred to summon the Kyuubi at its full power, and the last nine hundred to place it under our control for as long as it remains in the physical realm. A small price to pay for the ultimate weapon."_

Juubi dropped her jaw at this, and her complete lack of focus causes the images to cease to show in the water, as her mind tried to comprehend what she had just seen and heard. _'Kyuubi... Konoha... Naruto?'_

Juubi realized how big of an impact this must have on the future of the receiver of the gift in her hands, so she quickly moved on to the future of Konoha to see what affects on the life of Naruto this would have. She saw the attack on Konoha, she saw Namikaze Minato's double sacrifice, and - most importantly to herself - she saw what Naruto's 'childhood' was like as a result of all of this. It wasn't a pretty picture, and she suddenly understood - Kami had chosen this mortal to receive the gift both to help him in his future... and as a kind of 'sorry I couldn't stop it.'

Hit with inspiration, Juubi realizes that the best person to deliver the gift for Naruto, is Kyuubi herself. Leaving to go to Kyuubi, Juubi decided to let Kyuubi decide the details of the kekkei genkai itself, both since it would give her something to do in that seal and because she would have an even better understanding of Naruto's needs for the bloodline.

An Hour Later

"-and that's what's going to happen. We can't directly interfere, but since you now know, you might be able to take one or two of those bastards down before you're forced to attack Konoha. Since you'll be sealed in the recipient of the gift, it makes sense for me to have you deliver it to Naruto."

Kyuubi could only nod at her friend in silent shock at what she had just been told. Seeing that she wasn't going to speak immediately, Juubi decided to continue with telling her the details of her task. "Seeing as how you'll get to know him far better than I could when you go to give it to him, I'll leave all the details of the gift itself up to you, 'kay?"

"Um... alright..." Kyuubi absentmindedly took the kekkei genkai genesis stone when Juubi offered it to her, still trying to wrap her mind around what exactly she had been told. A sudden tingle all over her body let her know that she had moments before she would get her shot at killing one of the people who were about to ruin and destroy countless lives. She quickly placed the stone inside a dimensional pocket that was attached to her person directly, knowing she'd be able to access it no matter how she was sealed.

Roughly Twelve Years Later

"...the reason everyone hates you... is because you are the Kyuubi!" Mizuki screamed at Naruto, completely ignoring Iruka's cries of 'Don't!' and 'It's forbidden!'

Naruto froze. His whole life, this was the reason. The reason he was treated as he was. All the hate, the glares, the whispered words and rough treatment. He earned them all. He was the Kyuubi.

"Die, Demon!" Naruto watched as Mizuki drew one of the huge shuriken off of his back and threw it right at him. He wanted to dodge, like he vaguely heard Iruka-sensei shouting for him to, but his body betrayed him, not responding to his commands. He watched as the shuriken, Iruka dashing towards him, and the whole world slowed down, wondering if this was what happened to everyone right before they died. When the shuriken was halfway to him, the world slowed to a complete stop, followed by everything around him fading into an inky black darkness.

When Naruto could see again, he found himself in a sewer tunnel, almost kneedeep in water. Looking around, he wondered _'Am I dead? Was the whole 'slowing to a stop' thing some kind of genjutsu that got me killed while I was stuck in it? And if so... is this hell, or just the road to it?'_ Shrugging as though it didn't matter, Naruto decided to walk the path before him. _'Not like there's anything else I can do around here...'_

Following a seemingly random series of tunnels, Naruto eventually reaches a passageway filled with a blinding light. Running forwards, Naruto was practically blinded again as he ran through the wall of light only to find himself in a huge chamber with no better lighting than the previous halls. The main features of which was a huge cage, of which only one side was visible to him, and a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' written on it holding shut the only door for the cage.

As he approached the cage, Naruto noticed a large shadow moving towards the bars as he did. He stopped walking towards the bars, squinting to try and see what was behind them. A red glow began to form around the shadow, gradually growing brighter until Naruto could make out the full form of what he saw.

_'The Kyuubi? But I thought I was-'_

**"You are not me, child."**

Naruto jumped at the deep boom of the voice, as the walls and floor seemed to vibrate from it. The water about his legs rippled away from the enormous kitsune inside the cage. The look on Naruto's face spoke of great surprise, a little shock, even. Slowly, a look of dawning comprehension began to move over his face, like clouds moving away from blocking the sun.

As the first hints of anger began to appear, however, Kyuubi was quick to stop simply observing him, recognizing where this was going. **"I did not **_**choose**_** neither to be sealed in you nor for the people of your village to treat you as they have."** Sensing his next thoughts, Kyuubi added, **"and for the record, someone was controlling me at the time of the attack. There was nothing **_**I**_** could have done to stop that from happening."**

Naruto's look at this last statement was one of anger, frustration, and confusion. He asked the first question to pop into his head, "What do you mean? Aren't you strongest of the biju? What could possibly _make _you do something you didn't want to?"

**"First, I'm the **_**second**_** strongest of the biju, though the strongest never comes to this plane of existence anymore. As for what controlled me... a small group of ningen who call themselves the Akatsuki found out and used an ancient forbidden ritual that would allow them to temporarily summon and control any being lesser than the highest 13. It required the sacrifice of a thousand tortured innocents... I don't need to explain how vile these people are to do something like that, do I?"** The stunned horror on the boy's face was all the answer the Kyuubi needed. **"While all that is horrible and all, I do have some good news for you..."**

"What?" The voice of the question was bordering on monotone, and Kyyubi knew why.

_**'It's probably all he can do to not break down and cry for those people. The idea of innocents sufferiing always tears him up inside.'**_** "While it's true that Kami knew this was going to happen, she and the others of the 13 had agreed to make it a law of the universe that no higher being was to ever **_**directly**_** interfere with the free will of ningen. Since she couldn't interfere with them doing this, she decided to at least have me give you a kekkei genkai to make up for the pain and suffering my being sealed in you would cause." **_**'And she's hoping it'll help you take out those bastards who caused this anguish.'**_

"I-I have a kekkei genkai?" Naruto looked stunned, and a little happy, for a minute. Then his whole posture changed, his shoulder slumping, his head hanging, and he seemed to almost shrink in on himself. "A lot of good it will do me now that I'm dead..." He was interrupted from his depressing thoughts by the sound of chuckling.

**"Silly ningen, what makes you think you are dead? When you die I'll get to go home, so me still being inside you means you're still alive."** Seeing where his thoughts were leading, Kyuubi decided to beat the question to the punch. **"The whole slowing down of time wasn't a genjutsu. I was speeding up your mind temporarily so you and I could have a discussion without Mizuki killing you in the middle of it. An unfortunate side effect was that only the nerves in your brain are affected, making you unable to move at all."**

"So I'm still alive?" At the Kyuubi's nod, hope shone in Naruto's eyes. "That means I still have a chance to save Iruka-sensei! Let me out quick, I gotta save him and give Mizuki a beatdown!"

Kyuubi grinned at the fire and determination in those eyes. **"Hold it a second there, kid. I still have to activate the first stage of your gift and tell you the basics of how to use it so you can save your sensei."** Naruto pulled a look of sheepish excitement at this, making the Kyuubi grin wider.

Confusion momentarily entered Naruto's eyes before he asked, "First stage? As in there's more than one?"

**"Yes, there is a total of six stages for one part of the gift, while the other part is a single stage that is both passive and permanent."** Seeing Naruto looking lost again, she decided to expand on that. **"The kekkei genkai is part doujutsu and part nature affinity. Nature affinity kekkei genkai are always passive and permanent and always only have a single stage. Your doujutsu, however, has six stages, five normal and one special. Also, the abilities your left and right eye gain at each stage are seperate, but since they gain stages simultaneously, we'll count it as five rather than ten."**

Naruto gained a look somewhere between understanding and puzzlement. Quickly sifting through his thoughts, Kyuubi decided to simply answer only the questions that needed to be answered immediately. **"All you'll need to know for now is how to use the technique in your left eye after I activate the first stage for you. That's what you'll need to save Iruka and yourself. I'll bring you back here to explain the rest the next time you go to sleep, okay?"** Naruto nodded, shruging off his questions until later, since he had a sensei to save. **"The technique of the first stage of your left eye is basically telekinesis. Although you lack the practice and control necessary to do anything spectacular with it right now, it should still be more than enough to throw projectiles off course. The giant shuriken flying towards you right now, for example. As for how you use this power, you'll need to push some chakra into your left eye and focus on- you know what? If you give me permission, I can briefly take control of your chakra and just show you how to do it when we're back out there. You'll be able to feel how your chakra moves to accomplish the technique and save both of us from the lecture I would have to spend a good deal of time giving you on how to do this. You learn faster by action and practice than by listening anyway."**

Seeing not many other options, and not being too eager to listen to _any_ lectures, Naruto conceded the point, despite not liking the idea of handing over control of any part of himself to anyone. "Alright. Let's do this."

The sewer around him faded away, and Naruto quickly found himself back in the outside world. Time seemed to begin once again as the mega shuriken began spinning and moving towards him again, Iruka's sprint towards him continuing as well. Naruto felt a comforting warmth pulsing from inside his abdomen, and while it felt like it touched his whole body, it especially could be felt in his eyes. He felt some of his chakra being pushed to and out his left eye, and while he couldn't see it he could still _feel_ his chakra even after it moved several feet in front of his body. He felt it as it pushed the shuriken off course, passing ten feet to his left side and embedding into a tree somewhere behind him. Then his chakra came back to him, reentering through his left eye, although slightly less came back than he had felt leave.

Iruka and Mizuki both stood stunned, staring and gaping at what they had just seen. A perfect hit had turned into a wide miss for no apparent reason other than Naruto looking at it. Recovering first, Mizuki snorted, "Looks like the demon has begun to regain some of its power. Guess I'll have to take care of you personally, Kyuubi!" Mizuki drew a kunai into his hand and got into a fighting stance.

Iruka was the only one in the clearing to have noticed the change in Naruto's eyes - or at least the one on the same side as him, Naruto's right. He was still too stunned to say anytthing as Naruto replied to Mizuki, "Bring it! I'll repay every blow a hundred times over!"

"Try it, Demon!"

"TAIJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" With a ton of Naruto size puffs of smoke and many popping noises, Mizuki was surrounded by a bit more than 200 clones of Naruto. "LET'S GET HIM BOYS!"

Mizuki screams were heard all the way in the Hokage's office, where the Sandaime sat with a scroll in his lap. A scroll labeled 'For Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto'.

(1) = in the order they were indirectly referred to: Uchiha, Hyuuga, Aburame and Inuzuka, Senju (Mokuton), Yamanaka & Kuruma, Akimichi, Nara and others.

**Closing A/N: **What's up with the scroll? What other powers come from the new eyes? What form will the other part of Naruto's kekkei genkai take (the nature affinity part)? If the left eye has 'techniques' for each stage, what does the right eye have? How will Naruto's gifts effect his 'True Gennin Exam' and beyond? How will his former classmates/ new teammates react to this news about Naruto? And what the heck does the doujutsu look like anyway? To find out, wait for the next chapter of 'Kitsune's Natural Eyes'.

Whew. I hope you all enjoyed that. Felt kinda short to me, but the last thing I completed was chapter 3 of Banished with a Bloodline, so it would take a lot more writing to make this long enough to not feel short to me. Please R&R. Some things just for the record, I start all my stories with no idea regarding the pairings and work my way up from there, see where it goes. Odds of this turning into a harem fic - slim. Each story I write, the characters in it can be completely different people, both from the other stories I have them in and from canon Naruto. Lastly, no story I have planned right now (with the exception of #5) will intentionly have a crossover in it. If you dislike any of this, feel free to refuse to read any stories of mine you don't like, but don't waste either of our time by flaming me for it. Thank you, and have a good day (or night, as it may be).


	2. Discussions

**Disclaimer:** hmm... nope. I don't own it.

**Opening Author's Note:** Okay. Sorry for not posting sooner. Suffice to say a ton of stuff went on in real life that took me away from writing and I only recently got both the time and desire for this back.

Last Chapter

Mizuki screams were heard all the way in the Hokage's office, where the Sandaime sat with a scroll in his lap. A scroll labeled 'For Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto'.

CH2

Hokage's Office

The Sandaime Hokage sat behind his desk, staring at the door and patiently waiting for the people he knew would arrive soon. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait much longer.

There was a brief knock before he heard Iruka's voice. "Oi! Naruto!"

The doors to the office swung open, shoved by a smiling Naruto. "Naruto! You can't just barge into the Hokage's office! You have to receive permission to enter first." Grabbing Naruto by the collar of his jumpsuit and pulling him back over the threshhold of the doors, Iruka adressed the Hokage. "I apologize Hokage-sama. May we have permission to enter?"

Sarutobi smiled and nodded as the two entered, Iruka shutting the doors behind them. A concerned look momentarily passed over his face when Iruka dropped to a knee with one arm struggling to push his upper torso away from his knee not on the ground and the other in a fist pressed against the ground to prevent his complete collapse, and the Sandaime stood up abruptly at the action, the thought flying through his head, _'was he hurt worse by Mizuki's initial attack then I originally thought?'_ "Iruka!"

"I plead for you to take light of Naruto's actions, Hokage-sama! He was acting under orders from a superior officer he was supposed to be able to trust, he had no way of knowing the truth!"

The Hokage relaxed and chuckled. Iruka hadn't half-collapsed, he was bowing on one knee. "It's alright, Iruka. I saw most of the confrontation in the forest through my scrying technique, so I know what really happened. To make things clear, I approve the field promotion of Uzumaki Naruto to the rank of Gennin and will make the necessary papers go through tomorrow morning."

Iruka looked sheepish, having forgotten that field promotions during peace time required approval or authority directly from the Hokage to be effective. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Noticing Iruka's pain as he stood, the Hokage decided to take care of his subordinate and get some privacy at the same time. "Iruka, go to the hospital," the kind voice of the old man said. When Iruka looked at Naruto and seemed as though he was going to protest, the Hokage's kind voice went a little deeper, "I _insist_."

Iruka restrained himself from flinching at the silk-covered-steel of 'The Hokage Voice' and nodded. Leaving for the hospital, Iruka shut the doors behind him again. As soon as he does, Sarutobi activates the office's privacy seals, preventing entry into the room and any form of eavesdropping from occuring.

"Now that we have sufficient privacy, I have some things to talk to you about, Naruto," as Naruto looked on, the Sandaime reached down and pulled up a scroll from beside his chair. The scroll was almost as long from handle to handle as the one on his back, but only about half as thick. A glowing golden seal held the scroll shut, but Naruto's eyes were drawn to the plain kanji stating who the scroll was adressed to. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

Staring at the scroll silently for a minute, Naruto turned his face to the waiting Hokage and gave him a confused look before saying, "okay, what's up with the scroll? And why does it have 'Namikaze' as part of my family name?"

"Seeing as it's the simpler question to answer, I'll answer the second question first. It has Namikaze in it because that was your father's family name, and the one who sent this knows that."

"You know who my father is?" Naruto's face was a mixture of hope, sadness, pain, and betrayal with the start of anger showing through. "You lied to me, ojii- Hokage-sama?"

"I didn't have a choice. Your father asked me to, and it was one of his dying requests."

"What, he thought I was a demon too?"

"No! He knew better than anyone how the seal works... he's the one who performed the technique after all."

Naruto was struck silent as his mind went through the information given to him until it reached the only possible conclusion. His father performed the sealing of the Kyuubi. His father was the Yondaime Hokage. Naruto went from stunned to red hot rage.

"That fucking bastard! How could he do this to me? His own son! What kind of father-" Naruto's tirade was muffled by the Hokage's robe as he was pulled into a hug by the kneeling Sandaime. Soon his struggle slowed to a stop and tears replaced shouts. "What kind of father... would condemn his son to this kind of hell?"

The Sandaime felt pangs of sympathy in his heart for Naruto at that moment, and he gave the only answer he had, the same answer he'd had to give to himself whenever he asked himself the same question when observing Naruto in the hospital recovering from another beating by the villagers. "The kind who couldn't ask another to give up what he himself was not willing to." The next several minutes was filled with Naruto cursing at his father for his life of pain and crying himself out on the robes of the most powerful ninja in the village.

When he had finished crying himself out, Naruto simply stood heavily in the Hokage's hold. A few minutes later he pulled back, having calmed down enough to function.

Sarutobi restrained the instinct to flinch when he saw numbness in Naruto's eyes. "Ojiisan, whoever has a message for _Yondaime_'s son," he spat the man's title, "I'm not interested." Naruto then made to leave the room.

"Naruto... wait." Naruto paused with his hand on the doorknob, looking partially back at the Hokage. "The one who sent this, it has nothing to do with your father. They simply are the type to only call people by their true names, regardless of what people call themselves." This got a raised eyebrow from Naruto. "This scroll is not a normal scroll, Naruto. The moment your kekkei genkai manifested, this scroll _materialized_ out of thin air, over my desk, while I watched. This scroll can be only one thing and can come from only one source."

Naruto had turned back to the Hokage, letting his growing curiosity push back the numbness for now, "Only one thing? Only one source?"

"Yes, Naruto. This is a divine scroll, created by the will of the higher being who deemed it fit to give you your kekkei genkai. The scroll is indestructible and can only be opened by the willingly supplied blood of you or your descendants. However, the scroll will only exist until the last member of the first four generations of your kekkei genkai passes away, so any information in it that is not copied down or memorized and passed on before then will be lost. Also, this scroll is an excellent thing for you on several levels."

"How so? I get that it'll tell me more about my kekkei genkai, but..." Naruto had his head tilted to the side, his eyes squinted in thought, and his arm crossed.

"Naruto, do you know why there are only five great ninja villages, only five kage?" Naruto looked more confused at this. "The ring that I always wear is more than just decoration, and when it is referred to as 'the manifestation of the Will of Fire' it isn't an exageration. Each kage bears a ring similar to mine, yet different. When the first _new_ kekkei genkai came about, so too did the rings come to us. It is said that each of the first bearers of the rings received a vision as they slept from the higher beings, telling them the rings' purposes. The ring will mark a leader, and if anyone it deems unworthy to lead should bear it, they shall be killed by the ring. The rings' greatest purpose at that time, however, was to discern which people claiming to have a new kekkei genkai were real, and which had made it all up. Observe." Sarutobi placed his hand over the glowing seal holding the scroll shut, and immediately the ruby on his ring shone. A split second later, the kanji for 'Kami' had formed in stable flames hovering above the gem on the Hokage's ring. "If this scroll were false, the kanji would name the forger and the flames of the kanji would seek them out to consume them. Also, since your kekkei genkai is coming from Kami, of all the higher beings, that's a huge proof that you couldn't possibly be a demon like the villagers claim."

"So why is there only five great ninja villages?"

"Since proving to the world one's kekkei genkai was real required one go to see one of the kage, that also meant that a village with that kage would get first dibs on recruiting the new kekkei genkai. Since this helped draw in more clients and respect, the villages with kage grew faster. Even ninja without kekkei genkai frequently joined these villages, since working with such powerful people was better than risking working against them."

Noticing Naruto struggling to stay awake after all that had happened and been learned this day, the Hokage decided that they could wait until morning to open the scroll. Looking at the clock, Sarutobi figured that he could use some shut eye before tomorrow as well. "Well, Naruto, while this has been... intense, I think we could both use some shut eye before we try going through whatever is in the scroll. Tomottow morning, 8 AM, we'll meet back in here to open the scroll, okay?" Seeing the nod barely through the immense yawn, Sarutobi struggled to supress the urge to yawn in response himself.

Leaving the Hokage tower and going their separate ways, Naruto and the Hokage wished each other a restful night.

Hokage's Office - The Next Morning

"Hoka-"

The personal secretary of the Hokage's voice over the intercom was cut off as the doors to the Hokage's office were thrown open by Naruto.

"Er... Uzumaki Naruto-san is here to see you, Hokage-sama..." the man sitting in the desk in the hall outside the doors finished, stating the obvious simply out of habit.

The only thing that had kept the two female ANBU by the door from preventing Naruto from barging into the office, or the four hidden ANBU in the room from restraining Naruto the instant he barged into the room 'uninvited', was that the Hokage had informed all of them already that he had an appointment with Naruto at this time.

Clearing his throat, Sarutobi adressed the nearby ANBU, both seen and unseen, using subtle hand signals that translated as: 'In room ANBU, one hour break, outside this office. ANBU at door, close the door behind guest, _no one_ disturbs this meeting.' The invisible presences in the room disappeared completely without revealing themselves, and the two female ANBU in the hall by the door, shut the door and took positions outside it, directly blocking any access to the doors.

As soon as he had activated the privacy seals for his office, Sarutobi relaxed and addressed Naruto, "Naruto. I trust last night's sleep did well for you?"

"Hai, ojiisan." Naruto's response came with the fox-like smile he was well known for among those who saw _him_. "So, we need to do what today? Open the scroll and read it?"

Pulling the scroll out from his robes, where he had concealed it even from the ANBU in his office - he was considered the 'God of Shinobi' for a reason - the Hokage responded, "There's a bit more than that we have to do today, Naruto. We also need to make an appointment for a full Council meeting and have to decide when to make announcements to the village in regards to your heritage and kekkei genkai status."

Naruto frowned with squinty eyes and a tilt to his head. "Why do we have to do that stuff?"

The Hokage sighed. "According to laws set down at the founding of Konoha, whenever a new kekkei genkai or a clan with an established kekkei genkai joins the village the Council must meet with them to discuss and agree upon things like allotment of land, clan status, and a beginnning allotment of money to help the 'new clan' get started here."

Naruto scoffed, "in other words, the Council can get together a 'proposal' that'll screw me over and - since I'm a gennin of this village - if I refuse the proposal and leave to take my gift someplace else, they can just send hunter-nin to kill me for going rogue."

The Hokage smirked before he spoke, "Actually, they can't."

Naruto gave the Hokage a look, so he started explaining, "There used to be six greater villages. One of them, after a new kekkei genkai user left the village to find a better proposal, sent out their shinobi to kill him. Two days after his murder, a shinobi from the village who had been out running a message to another village came upon a clearing where his village once was. No crater, no rubble, no bodies. A single scroll, signed by all thirteen higher beings, lay in the center of the clearing, where the base of their kage's tower once stood. It made matters clear that unless a Founder - a shinobi or kunoichi in the first four generations of a new kekkei genkai - had made an oath or binding contract placing them in the service of a village, organization, or group, they were the direct responsibility of the being who granted them their gift. The murder of any such unaligned Founder would result in the erasure of those responsible for said murder. If you leave Konoha without giving an oath or signing a contract to serve as a part of Konoha, no one can send anyone to harm or kill you without endangering all of Konoha. Despite the fact that you're already technically a gennin of the village, you've yet to sign anything binding _your clan_ to Konoha. If you choose to leave, no one can stop you. If the Councils want you to stay, they'll have to make up for all the crap you've put up with here."

Naruto joined the Hokage's wide grin with one of his own, then asked, "Wait. I'm not sure I want to tell the Councils all about my kekkei genkai. What if I decide not to stay here, and they pass weaknesses or secrets down to their shinobi so they'll have an easier time killing me once I do join up with a village?"

Sarutobi's smile didn't falter. "All they have to know is the general type of kekkei genkai it is, not the secrets of it. The secrets of your kekkei genkai are your clan's secrets, no force anywhere in the world has a right to demand those secrets of your clan. The scroll has a special hidden function. If you leave a village with it, anyone who has seen the contents of the scroll will instantly forget all the important details contained within it. Even if they read straight from it, your secrets would be safe."

"Why do we have to tell the whole village anything?"

"The villagers and shinobi will begin to wonder about your sudden acquisition of lands, money, and status on the clan council, and if they aren't informed of something, they'll start to draw conclusions from assumptions. Given their... willful ignorance of the _true_ nature of your 'condition', they'll probably jump to some pretty bad conclusions. If they act on those, your life will only get worse. Fortunately, all they'll need to know is that you have a kekkei genkai and whose son you are."

"So... how long do I have before we _have_ to have that Council meeting?"

"It'd be best to have it before the team placements, the sooner the better."

"Two days should be enough time for me to get set in case I wind up leaving the village. So in two days, best time would be in the afternoon, right after lunch, so if it goes on for a while I shouldn't get too hungry." Naruto nodded to himself.

"And what about the announcement?"

"We'll talk about that after the first thing is settled. If I wind up leaving, anytime you want to, you can go ahead and tell them what they threw away."

The Sandaime handed the scroll with Naruto's full name on it to him, then sat back in his seat to wait for him to open it. Naruto struggles to open the scroll for a minute until the Hokage clears his throat. "Um, remember what I said last night?" Naruto tilted his head as he tried to think of what the Hokage was talking about. "You have to spread a little of your blood over the seal for it to let you open the scroll."

"Oh, yeah." Naruto bit his thumb and spread a line of blood over the seal on the scroll. The scroll loosened and Naruto laid it on the Hokage's cleared desk so they could both read it as he rolled it out.

To both Naruto's and the Hokage's surprise, the first part of the scroll was labeled 'The Origin of Kekkei Genkai'. Reading over this, they learned about the time of chaos prior to the current system, the first thirteen kekkei genkai, the Well of Empowerment, and the rotation the higher beings agreed upon for the handing out of new kekkei genkai (1). After the interesting history lesson was an even more unexpected section.

It's label read 'The Cause of the Attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune'.

While Naruto had heard some of this from the Kyuubi's own mouth, he doubted he'd ever be able to convince anyone else of the vixen's innocence so he'd mentioned it to no one. The Hokage was surprised to learn about this ritual that forced the Kyuubi to attack their village, but it was the one lead he got from the scroll as to the ones responsible that sent an icy feeling into his gut. The mention of 'a pale man with eyes like a snake's.' Once again a feeling of guilt and regret about the one he let get away flowed over him. As for Naruto, this was the first time he'd gotten a description of any of those involved in the actual performing of the ritual.

After a seperation of the scroll again, it finally got to the section regarding Naruto's kekkei genkai. At the beginnng of this section, their was a picture labelled 'fully mastered fifth tier doujutsu'. In the picture, each eye had five marks in the iris surrounding the pupil in a circle. Around the left eye, the marks were in the form of very thin crescents that looked like they made a dotted-line circle around the pupil. For the right eye, the marks were slit like lines pointing from the iris wall towards the center of the pupil(2). Both eyes irises were black, with the left pupil being silver and the right being golden, and the left white being a dark purple-blue that was almost black while the right was a light blue. All the marks were their own colors.

sifma sigma

Underneath this was a section labeled 'Left Eye Capabilities'.

_**Left Eye Capabilities**_

_There are five capabilities of the left eye: telekinesis, foxfire, fox illusions, shapeshifting, and healing. Each of these capabilities has five levels of effectivesness. Whenever the left eye gains access to a new tier, all capabilities of the previous tiers gain access to their next level of effectiveness. The first and second tier capabilities start off at the first level of effectiveness, the third and fourth tier capabilities start off at the second level of effectiveness, and the fifth tier capability starts at the third level of effectiveness. This means for a fully mastered fifth tier left eye, the level of effectiveness for each is as follows:_

_Tier__Levels of Effectiveness_

_1 1-5_

_2 1-4_

_3 2-4_

_4 2-3_

_5 3_

_Note that certain capabilities will be less functional without their lower levels of effectiveness._

_The capabilities are 'assigned' to a tier in a particular way. First one gains access to the next tier. Then, the next time one falls asleep, a peculiar 'dream' will take place. The individual will be fully aware and remember all that is happening. Behind them will be a hallway, before them will be a number of doors equal to the number of capabilities they have yet to gain. The doors will each be a color that matches the color of the mark of the capability they represent. To gain a capability for a tier, one must go through the door of the matching color. To wait until later to choose, one must walk down the hallway behind oneself. Until an unlocked tier is assigned a capability, every time one falls asleep, one will experience this 'dream'._

_**Information on Capabilities and Levels of Effectiveness**_

_***Telekinesis***_

_The color of this mark is a light purple. For telekinesis, there are no major disadvantages to losing access to lower levels of effectiveness. All telekinetic effects are directly invisible to the naked eye, but if a person can see chakra due to a doujutsu, they can see the telekinetic effects. The variables changed by the level of effectiveness of this capability are: number of telekinetic forces controlled at the same time, shape of the forces, what the forces can effect/interact with, and how the forces can effect/interact with things._

_Level 1 - single force, solid plane (two dimensional shape), effects (liquids and higher) density objects, only enough force to parry/deflect away._

_Level 2 - single force, solid plane, effects all forms of matter but not energy, enough force to block/stop._

_Level 3 - two forces, solid plane/cylinder, effects all matter but not energy, enough force to grab/throw masses._

_Level 4 - three forces, solid plane or solid/hollow cylinder/sphere/box, effects all matter but not energy, enough force to contain things._

_Level 5 - five forces, solid/hollow of any shape, effects all matter and dampens energy, can be used to directly crush things but things that possess and/or can use chakra will take more chakra in the technique to crush._

_***FoxFire***_

_The color of this mark is a light blue. For foxfire, losing the first and/or the second level of effectiveness is __very__ bad. Foxfire's default color is blue and the most notable difference between foxfire and regular fire is that, while foxfire burns the things it touches, it will never ignite them. The amount of time a foxfire burns for is deetermined by the amount of chakra in it, though it can be cancelled early by recalling the chakra feeding it. When one initiates the foxfire, one must decide a speed, direction, and rotation for it to move in before launching it. The variables changed by the levels of effectiveness of this capability are: various attributes one gains control over, and the number of seperate 'groups' of foxfire that can be controlled at once._

_Level 1 - can change speed/direction/rotation after foxfire is shot, single group._

_Level 2 - can control what foxfire passes over unharmed and what it burns, single group._

_Level 3 - can expand/contract/shape foxfire, two groups._

_Level 4 - can alter color/brightness of foxfire, four groups._

_Level 5 - can control intensity of heat of foxfire, eight groups._

_***Fox Illusions***_

_The color of this mark is a light orange. For fox illusions, there are no major disadvantages to losing access to lower levels of effectiveness. Note that even numbered levels enhance all genjutsu capabilities while odd numbered ones only effect the two fox illusions. The two fox illusions are opposites, where one makes something draw attention and the other repels it. The variables changed by the levels of effectiveness of this capability are: how easily broken effected genjutsu are, potency of effect of an effected genjutsu, maximum duration before effected genjutsu falls apart, and the level of concentration on genjutsu or degree of contact with targets necessary to be effective._

_Level 1 - easily broken, mild potency, 30 seconds max, full visual concentration or direct eye contact with target(s)._

_Level 2 - somewhat easily broken, better potency, 1 minute max, full concentration or indirect eye contact with target(s)._

_Level 3 - medium difficulty to break, strong potency, 3 minutes max, significant concentration or eye focus on target(s)._

_Level 4 - somewhat hard to break, stronger potency, 10 minutes max, some concentration or a passing glance at target(s)._

_Level 5 - hard to break, only those with doujutsu of their own or a secondary chakra system will have a chance to fight it, 30 minutes max, some concentration when initiating illusion._

_***Shapeshifting***_

_The color for this mark is white. For shapeshifting, losing the first and/or second level of effectiveness can be bad. The variables changed by the level of effectiveness of this capability are: complexity of alterations possible, % of effective changes possible, max number of features that can be altered at any given time, and max duration of changes before forced reversion._

_Level 1 - minor cosmetic features (colorations of small areas, 30% change in hair length, etc.), 3 features, 5 minutes._

_Level 2 - major cosmetic features (colorations of large areas, 100% change in hair length, etc.), 6 features, 30 minutes._

_Level 3 - can change size/mass, 10% body mass max change, 8 features, 1 hour._

_Level 4 - can change densities, 80% body mass max change, 20% max density change, 10 features, 4 hours._

_Level 5 - can change anatomy/physiology related to organs(gain gills, heat pits, venom sacs, whiskers, fur, etc.), 200% max body mass change, 50% max density change, 11 features, 24 hours._

_***Healing***_

_The color for this mark is light green. For healing losing the first and/or second level of effectiveness causes no disadvantages. This power is not the same as most medic-nin's healing ninjutsu. Also it will only heal body tissues and fluids, not complex internal organs. It can be used to repair blood loss, damage to muscles, bones, tendons, blood and lymph vessels, nerves (ouside of the spine and brain), ligaments, and skin. The 'number of uses' refers to the number of times this ability is used seperately or on seperate targets, so a user with a level 1 effectiveness in this capability using it on a single person for ten minutes straight has still only used it once. The variables changed by the leveles of effectiveness of this capability are: speed of healing, max uses per day, max distance one can heal from._

_Level 1 - 1% target's body mass per 5 minutes used, once per day, touching._

_Level 2 - 2% target's body mass per 4 minutes used, twice per day, five feet._

_Level 3 - 3% target's body mass per 3 minutes used, four per day, ten feet._

_Level 4 - 5% target's body mass per 2 minutes used, six per day, twenty feet._

_Level 5 - 10% target's body mass per minute used, ten per day, any range one can sense the injuries from._

_**Right Eye Capabilities**_

_There are things one must understand to make the most of the right eye's capabilities. First being such terms as 'elemental affinity', 'elemental potency', and 'elemental conversion'._

_'Elemental affinity' is considered under two types: 'Primary' or natural affinity, and 'Secondary' or acquired affinity. While there are those who are fully elementally nuetral when it comes to affinity (their chakra favors no one element over another), they are rare. Natural affinities are determined partially by genetics, partially by the natural chakra in the area in which one was raised, and partially by the manner one was raised in. Acquired affinities are acquired by training, experience, and strongly favoring a particular element in one's jutsu while one's coils are malleable enough to be effected by such._

_'Elemental potency' is the how powerful each elemental chakra type is, when produced from your chakra. This effects how powerful of a technique of that element you can learn and perform. This is generally determined by one's 'elemental affinities'._

_'Elemental conversion' is how quickly and efficiently your chakra can be converted into a particular chakra type. This effects how fast and how much chakra one uses in performing or maintaing a technique of that element. This is generally detemined by one's 'elemental affinities' and training. Generally, it follows the same pattern as 'elemental potency', as even though one can train 'elemental conversion' in elements one doesn't have an affinity for, most don't unless they are attempting to gain a 'secondary affinity'._

_The second thing one must understand is the numbering system used to describe the effects of this eye's capabilities. The numbers used are percentages that represent either 'elemental potency', 'elemental conversion', or both._

_Numbers representing 'elemental conversion' can be interpreted this way: for determining speed of jutsu used, subtract 100 from the number, invert it, and add the percentage to the time it takes for a person with '100%' to convert their chakra to the right element; for determining efficiency of the chakra conversion, divide the number by two, and the result is how large a percentage of the chakra has been converted into elemental chakra by using the rest._

_Numbers representing 'elemental potency' are a little more simple and complex. In terms of power, just multiply the percentage by how powerful the technique is when used by someone with '100%'. In terms of the power of techniques that can be learned and used, it's a bit more complicated. For the table below, remember that the 'Rank of Jutsu' you can learn and use is based upon the _'elemental potence' _of the jutsu alone, and not upon the dozens of factors ningen use to determine appropriate ranks for their jutsu. Also note that percents less than 80 or more than 130 are extemely rare, and no ningen has a percent exceeding 180, that being the Niidaime Hokage's affinity for water._

_Elemental Potence__Rank of Jutsu_

_80 low D-rank_

_85 medium D-rank_

_90 high D-rank_

_95 low C-rank_

_100 medium C-rank_

_105 high C-rank_

_110 low B-rank_

_115 medium B-rank_

_120 high B-rank_

_125 low A-rank_

_130 medium A-rank_

_In regards to 'elemental affinities', an element one has a primary affinity for will be 120+ natural, while the element it is weak to will reduce to 85 and the element weak to it will reduce to 90, and the other two elements will reduce to 95. When gaining a secondary affinity, it will boost to 110+, and the elements weak to it or strong against it will reduce by a further 5, unless already a primary or secondary affinity themselves. The number of the secondary affinity will always be less than the primary affinity by at least 5._

_Understanding all this, the table below explains what each tier of the right eye does. For the primary bonus, it effects this tier's elemental conversion, either increasing it to 100 or applying the bonus, whichever results in a higher end result. For the secondary bonus, it effects both the 'elemental conversion' and 'elemental potency' of all the previous tiers by said amount. The last part refers to what level of elemental potency one must observe with the doujutsu active to assign the element to that tier. No element can be on two tiers, and the ability to gain new tiers for this eye is limited by the conditions listed in the 'Advancement of Tiers' section. Note that all bonuses from the table are only effective when the doujutsu is activated._

_Tier__Primary Bonus__Secondary Bonus__Element. Pot. Rank_

_1 +10% +5% E-rank+_

_2 +10% +5% D-rank+_

_3 +10% +5% C-rank+_

_4 +15% +5% B-rank+_

_5 +15% +5% A-rank+_

_**Advancement of Tiers**_

_The advancement from one tier to the next is not simple. To do so, one must have obtained 'mastery' of the current tiers in _both_ left and right eyes. To obtain 'mastery' of the current tier of the left eye requires not only gaining proper control of the newest capability but also gaining proper control of the newest levels of efficiency of the other present tiers. To obtain 'mastery' of the current tier of the right eye requires one to complete the firsts stage of elemental manipultaion training for any element you do not possess an affinity for and the second stage for any element you do possess an affinity for; also, if you gained a secondary affinity for one of the elements assigned to a previous tier you must also complete its second stage of elemental manipulation training. Once one has mastered both left and right eyes' current tier, the next tier for both eyes will become available to be 'assigned'._

'The Sixth Tier' was the label above another section, and right below the title was a picture labeled 'activated sixth tier doujutsu'. The eyes were both similar to the last picture of them, with the irises having changed from black to match the eyes' 'whites'. Looking at the eyes in their final 'perfect' form, Naruto realized what was so familiar about the other picture of them. The left eye was a full moon in the dark night sky, the marks around it becoming colored stars hovering in a circle around the moon. The right eye was the sun in a clear sky, the marks around it now touching it and forming a burst all around it instead of lines.

_**The Sixth Tier**_

_This section shall cover obtainment of the sixth tier, cost of usage, and powers provided to the left and right eye while using the sixth tier._

_***Obtaining***_

_There are two ways of 'obtaining' the sixth tier. The first is a kinjutsu that will instantly bring the user to sixth tier levels, but leave it stuck in the 'on' position, killing them with chakra exhaustion within a day at most. The second path obtains the 'true' sixth tier and requires one to show certain traits of character _after_ mastering the first five tiers._

_Please note, if one who hasn't unlocked the sixth tier for him or herself yet learns from either hearing about or reading about exactly what character trait is required, the ability to obtain the sixth tier by either method will forever be blocked to them._

_***Cost of Use***_

_When using the sixth tier during a life-or-death situation - not to train with it or when winning easily - these eyes will constantly eat away at one's chakra _capacity_. As such, excessive use of this form of the doujutsu, as with all other 'ultimate level' of doujutsu, can come with a crippling price._

_***Capabilities***_

_Left Eye_

_The passive ability of the left eye is called Analysis. It allows the bearer to rapidly analyze anything it sees so the user can best predict it actions and reactions. Note that while this allows the user to predict nin-/tai-/ken-/genjutsu and the like, it does _not_ allow for the copying or automatic memorization of such things. However, with this information gained through this ability and some hard work and practice, reverse engineering these things is made possible._

_The active ability of the left eye is called FoxPossession. It has one of two functions, both opposites. If you consider a person's emotions towards another individual or a group of highly similar individuals, as a sliding ruler, with 0 being indifference and apathy, 100 being 'love with all i am', and -100 being 'loathe with everything i have', then this ability allows one to change this number by 30 in either direction in regards to one person's feelings for one other person or highly similar group of people. This ability can be used once every 10 days and the target must have the effect reapplied within 30 days of last application or the 'foxpossession' will break. Each reaplication of this allows an additional sliding of up to 20 at user's discretion. The 'foxpossession' will also break if: the user dies; the affector(s) die; the target 'likes/loves' the affector(s) a lot due to the technique but is continuously mistreated or severely used by the affector(s); the target 'dislikes/hates' the affector(s) due to technique but is treated riduculously well by the affector(s). If the 'foxpossession' is broken or ends for any reason, there will be a strong, relatively permanent backlash and the target will be immune to this and the ;foxillusion' powers of this clan for the rest of their life. To determine the strength of the backlash, the effect becomes 20% more potent, then reverses itself._

_From a logical perspective, the increase is caused by this: if it was used to make them 'like/love', the sudden loss or feelings will make them think they were fangirl/boying on a crush or being manipulated by a genjutsu and the extra distance/coldness is an attempt to distance/protect themselves from that; if it is used to make them 'dislike/hate', the sudden loss of negative feelings combined with suddenly perceiving the person in a better light causes them to try to 'make up for' the negative treatment they gave the affector(s). Please note that such sudden changes greater than 100 can cause significant emotional trauma, and changes greater than 200 can cause severe enough trauma that intervention to prevent suicide/homicide _will_ be necessary._

_Right Eye_

_The passive abilty of the rigtht eye is a strong boost to one's chakra control while active. Note that the better control one has normally, the more one's control is boosted with this._

_The active ability allows one to use sub-elements. Note that this does not grant one knowledge on how to combine the main elements to form the sub-elements, but the capability. As such, the more one trains this ability, the more usefull it becomes. Also, it takes a full minute to switch from one sub-element to another._

_**Traits and Powers of the Kitsune Nature Affinity**_

_***Common Traits of Personality***_

_These traits will be shared by most members of the clan. They will possess a natural love for mischief, which will be more like innocent pranks and practical jokes for those on good terms with them, and more like traps and sabotage for their enemies. They would rather die than break a single heartfelt promise. They will possess an animal magnetism, being feral yet not in both personality and appearance._

_***Physical traits***_

_These physical traits will be possessed by all members born into the clan. Their natural body type will favor speed over brawn in a fight, being lean and athletic rather than bulking up on muscle. They possess a greater natural healing rate than normal people, but it only works at higher speeds when they are in a state of rest - in other words, not fighting, or getting injured, or in heavy physical training. They all naturally possess 'whiskers' as clan markings._

_***Special traits***_

_These traits are possessed by virtually all members of the clan, and focus on their animal partners. They possess the capacity for full verbal communication and understanding with all vulpines, or foxes, and a somewhat limited verbal communication with felines and canines, being able to understand maybe one in three non-proper noun words and having a general feeling of what the rest of the statement is about. The other major note is their 'vulpine-bond' which is described in the hiijutsu section below._

_**Hiijutsu Used by this Kekkei Genkai**_

_***Bonds***_

_Normal Vulpine-bond_

_There are two ways a 'normal vulpine-bond' is formed. The first method is 'automatic', in that it involves no effort on one's own part. The second method is a special jutsu that requires a degree of preperation and proper circumstances._

_The automatic method triggers whenever the bearer of the kekkei genkai does not have a vulpine companion with which she or he currently possesses a 'normal vulpine-bond' with. The four circumstances that can cause this are: death of last vulpine with such a bond to the bearer, the kekkei genkai was just awakened, the last vulpine with a 'normal vulpine-bond' with bearer had the 'special vulpine-bond' performed on him or her, or the bearer's last vulpine with this bond type was used to give to an adult who the adoption bond was performed on. This method will automatically seek out the nearest vulpine who meets this list of criteria: healthy, young adult, unmated, unbonded, and genderal balance with existing pack. Finding him or her, it will create the bond with them, and the vulpine will feel a strong pull towards their bondsharer._

_The special jutsu's instructions to perform is contained in the seal below. The requirements, however, is that the jutsu be performed in the presence of a single unbonded vulpine of genderal balance, best performed in an enclosed space such as a room to prevent interuptions. Generally, one performs this jutsu if one is looking for a larger personal pack, for whatever reason, or if one is planning on moving your last 'normal vulpine-bond' vulpine up to a 'special vulpine-bond' and don't want to have to deal with some random vulpine when one could pick him or her in advance._

_This bond, regardless of how it is performed, operates the same. The vulpine bonded will be smarter and physically better in almost every way, about 5 more years of youthful life than an ordinary vulpine, and will possess a chakra pool that can be used as well as being able to accept his or her bonded partner's chakra for the use of various combo jutsu, attacks, and manuevres. There is no backlash to either party due to the death of either member of the bond, save of course the emotional pain of losing someone close to you._

_Special Vulpine-bond_

_This bond can only be performed as a conscious, well-prepared effort. It must be planned well ahead, and agreed upon by both members, human and vulpine, involved. It requires preperation of a highly advanced seal that would take up the floorspace of an average bedroom to all four corners, and some of the ink used for certain parts of the seal must be mixed with the blood and chakra of both members involved, in precise amounts. The scroll detailing the seal and procedure to follow are, like the technique above, placed inside a seal below this section._

_The requirements for this jutsu on the vulpine's part is that she or he has already had a 'normal vulpin-bond' with the human for long enough that they have a strong sense of camraderie, the vulpine must be in good health and not yet old, and the vulpine must willingly agree to participate in this jutsu. The requirements for this jutsu on the human's part is that he or she must be in good health, be a willing participant, have at least one mastered tier in his or her right eye that hasn't been used in this technique before, and have enough chakra to make four kage bunshin without becoming winded._

_When using this jutsu, the human will inscribe several special seals in the main seal that indicate which of his doujutsu abilities will have a link with his vulpine companion. This requires at least one element from the right eye and any amount - including none - from the left eye. Note that one cannot use sixth tier abilities for this, nor can one use any abilities or elements one has already used for previous 'special vulpine-bonds'. Due to these limits, this jutsu can be performed no more than five times by any one member of the clan._

_Upon successful completion of the jutsu, a number of effects, both visible and some not-so-visible, will have happened to the vupine and human. The vulpine will have gained enough size to be on all fours and reach at least as high as his or her partner's waist, gained a number of tails equal to the number of powers linked to it, and the color scheme for the fur and eyes of the vulpine will change to indicate the element that it was linked to. For the less visible effects, the vulpine gains capabilities related to the powers it was linked to of his or her human partner's doujutsu, an intelligent enough vulpine at this stage can speak 'human', and the lifespan of the vulpine is set to be at his or her prime for the rest of his or her partner's life._

_As an important note, this is a soul-bond, much stronger than the 'normal vulpine bond'. As it is so strong, the death of one member will powerfully impact the other. The death of the human partner will kill the vulpine, and the death of the vulpine will permenantly blot out the marks they were connected to in their human partner. If all marks in either eye are ever blotted out, the human will drop dead unless they have already activated their sixth tier. In which case the human will live out their natural lifespan, never able to use their doujutsu's powers or even activate it ever again._

_Adoption Bond_

_This jutsu requires effort and forethought. It is used either on adults, usually to be brought into the fold by mates who want them to understand what _all_ members of the pack say, or on small children and infants, to in fact adopt them as official members of the clan. For the adults, they generally gain the speech-related aspects of the clan, but it wouldn't be too abnormal for a member of the clan to transfer a vulpine to her with a 'normal vulpine bond'. In the case of those younger, they gain the speech-related parts, some of the personality traits common to those of the clan, and a 'normal vulpine-bond' being transferred to them is a necessity._

_None gain the doujutsu from this bond, so the 'special vulpine-bond' is impossible for all that enter the clan this way. As with the two previous, the scroll regarding this is in a seal at the end of the section._

_***Other Jutsu***_

_This section is simply some advice in this regard, as this isn't confined to some narrow rules or limits like the other sections. However, there are a number of suggestions for exercises that could help you discover or make jutsu for your clan all on your own. Don't forget you live in a village with two clans who are of similar kekkei genkai to your own, on both sides..._

Beyond this section were four seals, clearly marked, 'normal', 'special', 'adoption', and 'other'. It didn't take either of their full intelects to figure out what each storage seal held.

They were surprised to find a small section at the last foot and a half of the scroll, called 'The CFA: Clan Foundation Act'.

_The CFA: Clan Foundation Act_

_The first couple generations that start off a clan with a kekkei genkai are of different rules than others. First, the first two generations (Naruto and his children) will develop their left eye powers a bit differently. Every capability, regardless of what tier it was taken at, will start with level of effectiveness of one and will be able to reach level five. This is so that Naruto and his children can fully develop an acceptable training regime for mastering any and all levels of the left eye capabilities that can be used by all his descendants. Second, for the first four generations, the Well of Empowerment will keep the kekkei genkai stable, so no one has to worry about inbreeding to 'keep the bloodline pure' for that long. This also means it is best for Naruto to have multiple wives to help make the clan grow as fast as possible for the early generations, so when inbreeding does come up, they can marry distant relations without thinning the kekkei genkai. These were part of the laws laid down about when the first kekkei genkai were made by us, so many shinobi villages have a modified version for in case a clan with a valuable kekkei genkai nearly dies out. That version is known as the CRA - Clan Restoration Act. The one laid down by us is called CFA - Clan Foundation Act. To that end, I simply say - Good Luck, Naruto!_

sifma

Both people in the room sat back heavily. It had been a long and, for Naruto, difficult to understand read. The last part, Naruto didn't know how to handle. He couldn't convince the one girl he loved more than anything to even go on a date with him, yet he's supposed to convince multiple girls to marry him and share him? How was-

"Naruto."

Naruto looked up at the Hokage.

"I'll leave it up to you to inform Iruka of however much you decide to."

"Why do I have to tell him anything? I mean I understand the councils needing to know, but why does he?"

"Well, you don't _have_ to, but if you want to be on a well-balanced team, you'll have to give him enough information for him to find people to balance or compliment your new skills with. Otherwise, you'll have him basing your placement purely on your academy scores, which I assume you don't want."

Naruto frowned, then sighed before nodding. "I guess I can understand that. So I guess I'll be heading home with the scroll then."

"Actually, it would be best for me to keep it for now." Naruto gave him a look. "Naruto," the Hokage sighed, "it'll be easier and more convincing if I bring the scroll with me to the Councils Meeting, since if anyone sees _you_ give me the scroll, they'll assume it's fake no matter what... I promise on my seat as the Sandaime Hokage, after the Councils Meeting I'll give you this scroll. Is that good enough?"

Naruto paused for a minute and nodded, then turned and left the room, thinking about what he was going to tell Iruka and how he was going to deal with the CFA.

About to close up the scroll, Sarutobi noticed a storage seal with 'for the Sandaime Hokage' written under it appear at the end of the scroll. Smearing some blood on this seal, a poof of smoke revealed two letters. The first told him that he was to read the second letter, word for word, to the individuals it was adressed to, and that he should read it by himself first so he wouldn't be too surprised by its contents in the midst of such a speech. Opening the second letter to preread it, it was obvious that it was meant to verbally beat down those who had wronged Naruto in the village.

Sarutobi let his back fall against the back of his chair. Most of the things Kami had stated the villagers were guilty of in the letter, he had no knowledge of happening in his own village. Sure, he suspected the isolation, as that came with the stigma others placed on him, and he suspected that one of the reasons Naruto always ate at Ichiraku's was because every other place either denied him entry or charged him so much he couldn't afford enough food to live by. Everything else, he had no idea of, and the only reasons he could think that Naruto wouldn't tell him was either shame... or that he'd given up on receiving help.

Two Day's Later, Chamber of the Council of Konoha

Sitting opposite two large, heavy wooden doors on a lone bench, was Naruto. Every so often he would twitch, growing a bit more impatient with each passing minute, waiting to be called into the Councils Meeting about him by the Hokage. He had already sat waiting there for half-an-hour, and he knew the people inside the room were just starting up on the actual meeting.

Inside the chamber, the Hokage had finally called everyone to quiet order. Looking around to make sure everyone was present and accounted for, he noted that all members of the civilian, shinobi, and clan councils were present. He was glad to note that no members of the so-called 'elders council' were present, as they would have caused him unnecessary problems. Since the elders council didn't exist when the laws of Konoha were laid out, they weren't included in laws regarding situations like this one, meaning they had no authority in this matter. Something that made the Sandaime almost giddy.

"Let's begin the session by-"

"Hokage-sama," Hyuuga Hiashi interrupted, "shouldn't we wait for the Elder Council?"

Sarutobi had a broad smile on his face when he responded. "No. They have no authority on the matter we are about to discuss, therefore they have no place at this meeting." The civilian council seemed shocked, while the shinobi and clan council both straightened up and looked sharp. They knew if the only matters the elder council would have no say in were a limited number of matters the founders of Konoha had laid out specific ruling about how to handle. The presence of all three of the original councils laid out by the founders narrowed it further to two things - either a new clan was trying to join the village with a kekkei genkai... or another village had openly declared war on them.

"As I was saying, let's begin the session by me informing you all why you are here. To set those worried at ease," he glanced at the shinobi and clan councils, "no, there has not been a decleration of war upon our village. By process of elimination, that means we have a new kekkei genkai that wishes to join the village. As laid down by the founders of Konoha, the shinobi, clan, and civilian councils, along with the Hokage, are responsible to meet with and agree upon 'incentives' to convince the new clan to join our village. Though there's a bit more to the situation than that." Waiting a moment in the stunned silence, the Sandaime continued, "in order to understand who the possessor of the new kekkei genkai is, I have to reduce a SS-class village secret down to a S-class village secret. Because the bearer of the new kekkei genkai had his name changed the day he was born to protect him from the enemies of his father, Minato Namikaze."

One would expect a huge outburst from such a declaration, but with such a shock in effect, so many individuals' intakes of breath as one could clearly be heard, followed by a silence an ant's fart would be audible in.

"The main reason I'm revealing this even now is simple. As many clans and some members of the shinobi council could tell you, when a new kekkei genkai comes into existence, the higher being who deigned to give the gift sends a special scroll bearing a special seal to the one in immediate authority over the new bearer, sometimes being the bearer themself. Such higher beings see no need for human secrecy, so the scroll sent by _Kami-sama_ bears the young man's true name." If possible, the pause's silence deafened the prior pause.

"What's more, rather than simply jumping right into the details of its kekkei genkai as most such scrolls have, it first gave the full story behind kekkei genkai and the world, then gave information for what, or rather _who_, caused the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." _Now_ there was an uproar.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you implying that _Konoha_ did something to _deserve_ that attack?" A member of the civilian council, a pink haired woman, shouted out. Many similar shouts were coming from the civilian and shinobi councils, although some of the more 'level-headed' clan council members were trying to remain 'calm and collected'.

"Enough!" The Sandaime bellowed. The room instantly went silent. "No, Konoha was not at fault, and neither was the Kyuubi." Seeing another uproar about to start, the Sandaime raised his hand in a firm stopping gesture while releasing and directing a noticable amount of killing intent. "According to the report from _Kami_, there is or was a group of individuals whom performed a ritual... which involved the sacrifice of nearly two thousand human lives and allowed them to summon the Kyuubi to this plane and gain control over the Kyuubi for the rest of its time on this physical plane." Silence. "What's worse is that, while Kami refuses to give direct information on this group, the information given on a member of this group makes that individual's identity painfully clear. After all, how many 'pale men with eyes like a snake's' could there possibly be?"

Members of the shinobi and clan councils had to employ all their emotional training to prevent themselves from bursting with outrage at this news, and while it took the civilians a few more seconds to catch the meaning, they were quick to join them. Although the signs of their rage were much more obvious.

Konoha, as a whole, had an especial hatred for traitors, exceeded only by its hatred for the Kyuubi. To find out, after all this time, that one of its most hated and feared traitors was in _greater_ part responsible for the Kyuubi attack than the Kyuubi itself... well, Orochimaru's demise just got pushed to the top of a lot more people's agendas.

Suddenly, Ibiki spoke up. "Hokage-sama, not to question your integrity, but may we see this passage of the scroll? As easy as it would be for us all to blame just Orochimaru, well... most of us are shinobi, we don't blindly assume things unless we want to wind up dead."

The Hokage nodded, then looked about the room over the members of the three councils. "Hyuuga Hiashi and Aburame Shibi of the Clan Council. Morino Ibiki and 'Ryu' of the Shinobi Council. Haruno Ruri and Tsukamu Etsu of the Civilian Council. That's two representatives of each council present, if you would please join me outside where I can reveal and open the scroll. In regards to the shinobi and clan council members, I will permit you to use shinobi techniques you deem appropriate to determine the validity of your observations and the scroll itself, if you feel it necessary. When we reenter the room, you can give your oppinions on the validity of my statements to the councils and your reasoning for such, but you aren't to speak of anything else that you see or hear out in the hall."

"Why can't you simply open the scroll in here for all of us to read?" the Yamanaka's fill-in on the clan council asked.

"The scroll has several protective measures built into it, the first of which is that it will only open up with a _willing_ application of blood from the original bearer of the kekkei gankai or one of their direct descendants. I can't bring him in here until all these other matters are taken care of first, as there is an order that steps were to be taken during negotiations to bring in a new clan with a kekkei genkai, and I haven't performed all the steps prior to bringing in the clan's representative. The other protective measure that matters in this case, is that if the scroll is open and seperated from the one whose blood opened it by more than five feet for more than three minutes, the scroll will forcefully snap itself shut and seal itself for the next twenty-four hours. That's nowhere near long enough for all of you to read it."

As the group of people moved to meet the Hokage at the double-layered doors leading into the waiting hall, Sarutobi opened the first layer of doors. After they had all entered the area between the first and second set of doors, he shut the doors behind him and performed a privacy technique so the Council wouldn't hear them if anyone raised their voice. Noticing this move, 'Ryu', head of the ANBU security division, chose now to speak, "I assume you have reasons for your selections, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, Ryu, I do. Both you and Morino Ibiki are experts at detecting lies and respecting important secrets, more so than anyone else on the shinobi council. The suggestion of using shinobi techniques was mostly as a suggestion for the use of the Byakugan and chakra-devouring bugs by those on the clan council. Hiashi can determine that there is no genjutsu making the scroll appear to be saying anything other than what it does. Shibi's bugs can tell him whether the scroll's chakra composition is divine, demonic, or human, as the scroll materialized out of thin air, and, having been sent from Kami, its composition will be divine in nature. Once his bugs determine this is the case, that will prove beyond a doubt the validity of the scroll itself to everyone. As for my picks of the civilian council... well, he's been part of the same class at the ninja academy as Haruno Sakura and Tsukamu Ami, close relations of both of yours, and that's not something anyone else on the civilian council can really claim."

Heading toward the second set of doors, the Hokage reached inside his robes, his hand grasping the scroll. Pushing the door between him and the waiting area open, he pulled out the scroll in the same second everyone heard an annoyed "Is it time for me to come in yet, ojiisan?" Thus, whether they were looking at the scroll or at the source of the voice in the hall, all the members from the councils learned just who the meeting was about at the same time. Within seconds, everyone recognized this was what they weren't allowed to talk about when they returned to the room.

Naruto looked at all of them uncertainly. He recognized the Hyuuga eyes and the person who looked ridiculously similar to Shino immediately. He also recognized the masked man as being an ANBU of some type. He could guess that the woman with pink hair was a Haruno, like Sakura, and he noticed some more subtle resemblance between the brunette woman and one of his classmates, a girl named Ami. Of course he knew, his 'jiisan', but that still left one person he was completely unfamiliar with and had no idea of his association or position. He raised his hand from the armrest and pointed his hand at the man with the scarred face. "Who're you? I doubt you wanna be called 'Scar-san', but I don't have anything else to call you..."

"That's Morino Ibiki, the Head of Interrogation and Torture, Naruto. Why only ask about him and not the others, though?" The Hokage asked.

Pointing to each as he referred to them, Naruto began listing off the names and reasons, "He's obviously an ANBU, and I know they're always adressed by their mask, so he's 'Ryu-san'. If I couldn't recognize the eyes of 'Hyuuga-san' after living in Konoha this long, you could call me brainless. He looks like a larger version of Shino, so I really doubt there's any way he could be anything other than 'Aburame-san'. The only two people I know with pink hair are Haruno Sakura and her dad (3), who's a merchant if I remember right, so she's 'Haruno-san'. While it's not nearly as obvious as the others, she's got a ridiculously similar facial structure to my classmate Tsukamu Ami, so she's probably 'Tsukamu-san'. And now I know Morino-san, so my only question left is what's going on, ojiisan?"

"Well, I was explaining some of the things this scroll said," he lifted up Naruto's scroll, "specifically, the things regarding Kyuubi and its attack. I need to show that portion of the scroll to these members of the councils, who'll then support what I've said as the truth back in the council chambers. We're out here as I'll need your blood to open the scroll for them to see. After we get this taken care of, it shouldn't be more than five minutes before I'll be ready to bring you in."

Biting his thumb and smearing it across the seal, Naruto watched as the members of the councils read over the part of the scroll the Hokage allowed them to. He was somewhat relieved to see the Hokage refuse to allow the more demanding Hyuuga to see what was further down the scroll than the section regarding the Kyuubi. After they were all done looking at the scroll and the bugs crawled off it and returned to Shibi, the Sandaime snapped the scroll shut and went back into the council chamber with the others, leaving Naruto to wait a little longer before he would join them inside.

Back in the chamber, the Hokage asked the individuals if his recounting of events was accurate to the scrolls, and after they confirmed that, he asked Shibi to verify that his bugs identified the chakra composing the scroll as divine in nature, which he did. After that, and the councils voted to accept the story of the Kyuubi attack as fact, the Sandaime made to get back on topic of the new kekkei genkai joining and getting the ball rolling on starting the negotiations for that.

"To start off, I should tell you there's five steps to this process laid down in the founding laws of Konoha. First is the prepatory step, where I inform you all of any details relevant to the nature of the kekkei genkai and any initial recomendations and ideas for negotiations are laid out here, such as if I have a suggestion on what will hold more weight with the representative for the clan to convince them to stay. Second is the introduction step, where the representative from the clans will enter and introduce himself or herself, and all of you will introduce yourself by name and position that got you on the council, and then any questions back and forth in regards to the bloodline details and other such things can happen, although the representative can claim clan secrets as such and doesn't have to answer personal questions any more than you all do. Third is the offer step, where the councils and their members make the initial offer as to what they'll offer to persuade the clan to join Konoha. The representative will probably ask questions in regards to details or clarification of specific offers. Fourth comes the 'counter-offer' step, where the representative makes any special requests to be added onto what has been offered. Members of the councils can, of course, ask for clarification or reasoning for any or all requests. Finally, the representative will depart while the councils will discuss what to make for the official, written offer, with full details. When they've hammered out the written offer, they have it given to the representative, who'll come back to discuss it with the council again, the third through fifth steps will repeat themselves until either the councils and the representative can reach and sign to an agreement, or the clan decides to search out a better village to lay its roots down."

"So... what _is_ the nature of the kekkei genkai?" the Nara Shikaku asked.

The Hokage nodded to the question, "This kekkei genkai is a doujutsu with a nature affinity. The nature affinity is closer to the Inuzuka's style than the Aburame's, while the doujutsu is closer to the sharingan than the byakugan. The clan's value to Konoha, in the future, will be somewhere between the Uchiha and the Inuzuka, but it might take a bit more than that estimation to keep the clan founder here." The Sandaime paused to take a few slow draws from his pipe.

"Why should it take more than that to keep him here? He isn't _arrogant_, is he?" the head of the ANBU black ops division asked.

"No, he's not arrogant or overly self-important. Rather, it's that the village has to make up for a disturbingly large number of slights against him."

"Who is he, that our village should slight him so much?" one of the leaders of a merchant guild asked.

Rather than answering verbally, the Hokage pulled out the scroll and displayed the name on it where all members of the councils could see. Almost immediately, the majority of the civilian council was in an uproar. Sarutobi silenced them all with an intense burst of killing intent at the first reference to Naruto as 'that demon'.

"Do I need to remind you? We just went over this. Even if the Kyuubi was possessing Naruto's body, it was innocent of being responsible for the attack. What's more, Kami wrote a letter that is expected of me to read to the entirety of Konoha's population. Kami minces no words in saying how close to damnation the villagers of Konoha are for their crimes against someone _Kami_ refers to as an _innocent child_. The manner of address makes it clear that there is a defined difference between Kyuubi and Naruto. You have no grounds to attack him on anymore... not that your grounds were ever legitimate before."

The civilians seemed cowed by his anger, and it was Tsukamu Etsu and Haruno Ruri who spoke up. "On behalf of the civilian council, we appologize, Hokage-sama." Other members of their council sputtered at this as the two bowed, but any protests died in their throat at the face of their Hokage.

"I trust no further problems for this meeting's possibilities will arise due to the civilian council?" It might be spoken like a question, but all in the room recognised it as an order. "Good. Now that the bigotry has been quieted, we can bring Naruto in." The Sandaime signalled one of the ANBU standing by the entrance to bring Naruto into the chamber. While he left, the Hokage kept a glare on the civilians, "_no_ trouble."

The sound of the inner door opening brought every eye in the room to the door, where Naruto was entering the room with the ANBU, the ANBU closing the door behind both of them. As the door closed, Naruto - aware of the gazes on him - moved down to the seat facing the councils with cautious steps and a wary look.

After he took the seat, he looked around at the various individuals in the three councils, taking note of how they looked _at_ him. On the clan council, Hiashi was giving him a nuetral, calm gaze, not a stare or a glare, just a level gaze. The Nara's gaze, Naruto noticed, was piercing, though not in a hostile manner, more like he was evaluating everything Naruto was and could become with a simple look. The Yamanaka clan head's stand-in had an appraising look, like he was evaluating Naruto's value to him and his clan. The Akamichi had a friendly smile on his face, and one glance in the... big-boned man's eyes told Naruto that it was genuine friendliness. The Aburame was completely unreadable to Naruto - and everyone else there - but the Inuzuka also seemed to be appraising Naruto, although her look felt almost as piercing as the Nara's for its fierceness. Naruto noted several unfilled chairs in this section, though he noticed one of the chairs had the same symbol on it as the back of all of Uchiha Sasuke's shirts (and if Naruto remembered right from the overnight survival training during his academy time, at least one of Sasuke's boxers was covered with mini 'Uchiha' symbols), so he could guess that must be the Uchiha Clan seat.

On the shinobi council, he noticed several masked ANBU, who were unreadable to him, and 'Morino-san', whose face was as unreadable as any of the masks sitting near him. There were several other people in this section, none of whom he recognized, although he could guess that one of them was a med-nin, due to her still being in full med-nin uniform. Virtually everyone in this section had either nuetral or slightly positive expressions directed at him.

Then came the civilian council, consisting of ten members, of which 'Haruno-san' and 'Tsukamu-san' were the only good in his eyes. The rest were barely restraining their hate and anger in their expressions and body language(4).

After another minute of silence, Naruto started to get impatient. "Well, who's going to get this talk started? Standing in front of a bunch of strangers being stared at isn't my definition of a productive day, y'know?" Naruto crossed his arms and frowned after he finished, waiting for a reaction.

He didn't have to wait long. "Who do you think you're talking to like that, de- brat?!" Naruto and the Hokage narrowed their eyes, at what he was going to say. "You should feel honored that we'd even allow you to be part of this great village!"

Before the Hokage could give the civilian council member a verbal reprimand, a hollow bitter laugh interupted him, echoing through the chamber. All eyes were on Naruto, a bitter smile that seemed so _wrong_ on his face as he stopped laughing and spoke. "Honored... to be part of _this_ village? There's only two reasons I'm even here right now giving Konoha this chance to take my clan in and benefit from _my_ kekkei genkai. One of them's my respect and sense of connection to the man wearing the Hokage hat right _now_, and the other is the fact that he hasn't given me _my_ clan scrolls just yet. I can _count_ the number of reasons for my hold on my sanity despite everything the village has done to me on one hand. Once again, the first of those reasons is the current Hokage. The rest, _you_ don't deserve to know."

The Hokage cleared his throat, hoping to get the meeting back on track. "Right, well... we really should move to the next phase of this meeting. So if everyone would _introduce_ themself... although I doubt that Naruto really needs to introduce himself to anyone here."

Deciding to start off on their side, the clan heads began introducing themselves one at a time.

"I am Abumrame Shibi. My son - Shino - is in your class."

"I'm the Inuzuka matriarch, Tsume. Kiba's my brat."

"Hyuuga Hiashi."

"I'm here in place of the Yamanaka clan head, Inoichi, who's on a high-priority mission right now. His daughter is Ino. _My_ name is Kanaye." The blonde man puffed up his chest.

"Nara Shikaku, my son's in your class."

"Akamichi Chouza. My son is Chouji, but you could probably guess as much."

Naruto nodded at each of them, before the shinobi council began to speak up.

"I'm Narita Yori, in charge of the hospital's med-nin."

"Morino Ibiki, head of Torture and Interrogation department."

"You may adress me as 'Ryu', head of ANBU security division."

"I may be adressed as 'Okami', head of ANBU black ops division."

"I'm Kataoka Aiko, head of the Research and Development department." A pleasant-looking kunoichi said, waving her hand.

"I am Yasuhiro Kyoko, head of the Education department for the Ninja Educational System." An aged woman said. Naruto silently guessed her to be older than the Hokage, which to him, meant 'ancient'.

"Matsuo Jiro, head of the Ninja Financial department." Despite the headband, Naruto thought he looked like a quintessential banker.

"I can't really give my name, so you may call me 'Hunter', as I'm the head of the hunter-nin division of ANBU."

"Fukushima Yoshi, head archiver and recordskeeper for Konoha shinobi functions."

Naruto's nod to the man was a little more stiff, though whether that was directed at him or because of who Naruto would have to listen to next was uncertain to all present.

"I'm Tsukamu Etsu, head of the civilian Department of Records and Bookkeeping. My grand-niece, Ami, is in your class."

"Haruno Ruri, head of the Civilian Financial department. You know my brother's daughter, Sakura."

"I am Kurofuji Mariko, head of the Education department for the Civilian Educational System." While young and pretty, Naruto could see the hardness in her eyes.

"I'm Akimoto Toyo, representative of the merchant's guilds." A brown-haired, mousy looking woman. Naruto gave her a nod to spite her sneer at him.

"Umari Ryo, representative of the service guilds." Naruto immediately labeled this guy 'his royal butler-ship', in his head.

"Yamaha Matsu, in charge of Importing and Exporting of Raw Resources." Naruto noted that he couldn't tell what this guy thought of him - or anyone else. The man seemed more of an emotional blank than Shino's family.

"I'm Obinata Akahata, in charge of the Health and Safety Department." Naruto glared at the man even as he gave a 'respectful' nod to him.

"I am Tadeshi Hiroshi, department of the Treasury." The man looked like he'd enjoyed his position and the money and prestige that came with it.

"I'm Saito Botan, representative of the labor guilds." Looking at the man's arms, each of which were nearly as thick as Naruto's torso, Naruto gave a very respectful nod to the man.

"Genji Dai, representative of the craftsmen guilds." The woman was spindly, with long, bony fingers that unnerved Naruto for a reason he couldn't quite name. He gave her an uneasy nod.

After a moment of silence, with everybody looking at each other, the Hokage coughed into his fist and asked, "well, any questions?"

Naruto held his hand up to get people's attention before he spoke, "yeah, just one at the moment... What's the difference between the Treasury, the Civilian Financial Department, and the Ninja Financial Department? I would think those three would be one and the same, so why make three seperate departments for the same thing?"

"I think I'll let them explain it to you..." the Hokage trailed off as he gestured in the general direction of the Councils.

After a moment of indecision, Hiroshi, the head of the Treasury department, decided he should probably speak up first. "The department of the Treasury is in charge of the finances, budget, and properties belonging to the village itself. The Treasury deals with these things and only these things, nothing else."

Jiro picked up right as Hiroshi left off, "By comparison, both Financial departments deal with regulations for banks and insurance companies. The reason why ninja and civilian departments are separate from one another is that both deal with entirely different kinds of clientelle and so need completely different regulation. I can list a fair number of examples, if you'd like..." Seeing Naruto nod, Jiro cleared his throat before he continued. "One example is insurance types. For ninja, there are basically two types of insurance available: the cheaper version, which only covers expenses that occur due to doing one's job, and is cheaper because of this and because the ninja's village pays a portion of the premium; the more expensive version that covers expenses that occur for any reason. On top of that, ninja insurance of any type has its premium effected both by the ninja's mission record versus their skill rank, on top of all the factors civilian insurances put on determining the insurance premium. Then there's the difference between civilian and shinobi banks. Civilian banks keep accounts and give loans for individuals, couples, and civilian businesses, whereas ninja banks do so for individuals, couples, clans, and ninja businesses. Also, since ninja safety boxes can have much more sensitive contents, they also have advanced security - chakra identity or blood identity seals to open them instead of the lock and key civilian banks use. The last two major differences in regulations between a ninja bank and a civilian bank are quite obvious to anyone who knows anything about ninja banks... Carrying lethal implements on one's person - either hidden or in the open - isn't only legal, it's the _norm_. For this reason, _all_ of the employees in any ninja bank are either retired ninja or active ninja who use their job at the bank for some extra cash."

After a minute of silence, Sarutobi again asked, "Are there any more questions?"

Hyuuga Hiashi and Inuzuka Tsume both made motion as if to speak, but Tsume decided to let Hiashi go first. "I understand your kekkei genkai is part doujutsu. What does your doujutsu do?"

Naruto stiffened when he mentioned knowing what kind of kekkei genkai he had, but relaxed some when he admitted to not knowing it's capabilities. "Well... it's a tiered doujutsu, like the sharingan, with five regular tiers. Each of the left eye tiers behave like either a unique jutsu or an enhancement of jutsu use. The tiers of the right eye mostly make things flow more smoothly and are a big part of an important ability connected with the nature affinity part of the kekkei genkai..." After several seconds of consideration, he decides to add one last thing about it. "Also... my eyes tiers are gained only through hard work, not through battle stress or anything like that." As Naruto remained silently waiting after saying that, the council realized that was all he planned to say about his eyes.

Tsume, not wanting to lose her opening, asked, "So what are you willing to tell us about the nature affinity part right now?"

Naruto nodded before he spoke, "well, my companions are close enough on the animal family tree to your clan's that I'll be able to understand some of what your companions say, though not nearly as well as my clan's companions." After this statement was followed by silence like the last one, the head of Civilian Health and Safety department snapped.

Standing up suddenly and slamming his palms against the table in front of his chair, Obinata Akahata shouted, "Is there anything you _are_ willing to tell us about your kekkei genkai?!"

Naruto glared at the man for a moment, then gave a disturbing grin. Pointing to his own face, specifically his 'whiskers', Naruto spoke in an icy tone. "These are what you'd call clan markings, not a sign that I'm a reincarnation of the Kyuubi or any other youko. If you want more info... well, all descendants of my clan will also have a much greater natural self-healing ability when their physically resting than virtually anyone outside the clan has ever had. That's about as much as I'm willing to divulge in front of this civilian council..."

Seeing the rising tension, and hoping that pushing forward would keep enough momentum to keep the whole meeting from collapsing into chaos, Sarutobi decided it was time to force the council to move to the next step. "It's time for the council to make initial offers in regards to what they or the ones they represent are willing and able to give to help convince the clan to stay. To make this easier, it's traditionally done in five offerings: deals, services, material goods, land area bought for the clan, and monetary offering. So we'll keep to that tradition. What deals are those present willing to offer to the new clan on the behalf of their department or those they represent?"

Aburame Shibi spoke up almost the second the Hokage stopped speaking, "if you choose to build your clan here, I propose an allaince between your clan, the Inuzuka clan, and my clan. Specifically, members of each clan will defend members of each others clans, including companions, from attacks of a violent or illusionary nature, and we'll willingly share any potentially compatible techniques between clans."

Tsume gave a nod, and said, "My clan will accept and go along with those same conditions if you accept."

Hiashi was quick to follow this, "My clan will offer you the same promise it offers all other clans and members of the village - that all members of the Hyuuga clan will be expressly forbidden from using the byakugan to spy on members of your clan or your clan compound intentionally, unless doing so under orders from a superior officer in their department or the Hokage."

Shikaku looked at Naruto for a minute before speaking the final deal, "Any animals of the same type as your companions that are found on the Nara clan lands, will be brought to your clan compound to do with as you see fit. In return, I'd ask that your clan won't let its companions run loose on the Nara clan lands."

Naruto looked at the Hokage in a questioning manner, and he said, "The Nara clan takes care of a large portion of Konoha's forests, so they could find a number of them there."

After a minute with no one else offering any deals or promises, the Hokage decided to move to the next part. "So who wants to offer their services to help the new clan?"

Hiashi spoke first, "seeing as there are few with the time and inclination to do so, the Hyuuga will teach you about politics."

Shikaku's eyes narrowed slightly, thinking, _'In other words, you'll teach him about the Hyuuga's views on politics...'_ Coming to a quick decision, Shikaku spoke up. "The Nara clan will offer instruction in strategy and planning." After another moment of thought, he added, "and basic herbology."

Hiashi inwardly scowled, knowing that the Nara was playing against his game.

Shibi spoke next, "Twice a year, the Aburame would be willing to send a group of Aburame to aid in the removal of all fleas, ticks, and other harmful insects from the compound grounds and from any individuals, both human and companion, inside your compound."

Chouza spoke up, "My family will help you out with physical training to develop your strength, speed, and endurance. Oh, and some cooking and nutritional lessons for a better diet for a shinobi."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at him wierd.

Chouza chuckled and said, "there are differences between a civilian's nutritional needs and a ninja's, largely due to chakra and its usage by said ninja. Eating properly as a ninja effects your growth and health as a shinobi. My family is willing to teach you what our clan has learned from generations of research on this subject, so you and your family could develop to the fullest."

Naruto's response to that was a warm smile.

Yamanaka Kanaye decided to offer up pretty much the only service he could think of that his clan could perform - and that he had enough authority to offer. "The Yamanaka would be willing to perform the initial gardening and landscaping for your compound."

Tsume immediately spoke up after Kanaye finished. "We'll offer some taijutsu training and some help with designing and setting up your compound. Also, we'll offer our vetrninary office services to your clan, seeing as we possess the only vetrinary office for shinobi animal partners in the village. On that note, we'll help your clan develop vetrinary techniques for its companions, okay?"

Naruto nodded, happy to receive help from the Inuzuka, since he figured their help was probably the help he needed most. Guessing that the pattern would continue, Naruto looked to the Shinobi council to continue.

The head of the ANBU security division, bearing the 'Ryu' mask, chose to go first. "The security division of ANBU, with your permission, will perform security inspections of your compound routinely and report any chinks or flaws to you or whomever you wish us to inform. In addition, we will provide a set group of ANBU operatives from our division to act as guards for your compound and, within geographic limitations, your person, until the time your clan reaches such a size that it can guard itself, and you reach such a rank that you can take care of yourself."

'Hunter' spoke next, "The hunter-nin division of ANBU will push about ten missions a year of the appropriate level or type towards members of your clan who aren't members of one of our squads to help bolster both their cash flow and reputation in the shinobi world. Also, we are willing to provide some training in tracking skills to members of your clan for the next two generations."

Narita Yori, the head of Konoha's med-nin, was the next speaker, "our division will offer help with the training of your vetrinary med-nin, as well as help with developing jutsu for them."

Kataoka Aiko, the woman in charge of Research and Development in Konoha, followed up with, "we'll provide use of our facilities and personnel to aid in the development of jutsu for your clan for free for your generation of the clan and the next."

Matsuo Jiro, in control of the Ninja Financial department, chose to go next. "I've already mentioned this, but as a clan of Konoha, you'll have access to clan-related features of our banks and financial companies."

The woman in charge of the Ninja Educational System, Yasuhiro Kyoko, spoke in a quieted voice, "we'll offer training in chakra control and a number of appropriate jutsu for you, since I currently suspect those areas of your schooling were... left lacking by your earlier academy instructors... or might be sabotauged by a poor choice of jounin instructor."

Naruto nodded, and recognized the flash of emotion that passed behind Kyoko's eyes as guilt.

Tsukamu Etsu, head of Civilian Records and Bookkeeping, decided to get the ball rolling for her part of the council. "I'll offer you advice on both recordkeeping and bookkeeping for your clan's sake."

Naruto nodded, and then stood waiting for someone else to continue.

After another five minutes of waiting, the Sandaime seemed like he was ready to burst a couple veins. "Maybe I should make some '_healthy suggestions_' to members of the Civilian Council?"

Stiffening at the threat, Umari Ryo - the guy who represents the service guilds - spoke up begrudgingly. "Those under my guild will give a five percent discount to members of your clan."

Not wanting to be further threatened, and seeing the Hokage's eyes on her, Genji Dai spoke quickly, "Your clan will like wise receive a discount from members of the craftsmen guilds - at least for any custom jobs they might have for us."

Seeing the Hokage looking at him now, Saito Botan spoke up, "the labor guilds will offer a similar discount whenever possible, and... I'll appoint someone to make certain your clan members are given fair and trustworthy individuals for the jobs you need done."

Satisfied that that was all he could expect from the Civilian Council, Sarutobi decided to push to the next step. "So... material offers are next..."

Speaking first this time, Yamanaka Kanaye said, "We'll offer any plants used in the intial gerdening and landscaping for either free or fifty percent discount, depending on the value of the plants."

Naruto was shocked at this, though he tried to keep his reaction down.

Tsume spoke up next. "I know we have close to three hundred yards of unused kennel fencing, so I can give you that. Also, we'll give you some of our pest-protection collars for your companions, some animal medicines to stock your shelves, and some copies of texts on animal healthcare and medicine. That sound good?"

Naruto could only dumbly nod his head.

Shikaku carried on the offers, "I can offer some ingredients for medicines for your clan, things like deer antlers and plants only found on Nara land."

"Some gourmet cookbooks," Chouza said, "and some rare spices to go with it."

Most of the councils, the Hokage, and Naruto all chuckled at that.

Yori, head med-nin, said, "I can help fill some of your human medical supply needs, including a number of emergency aid kits. The number of kits I'll provide you with will depend on the size of your clan's compound, with enough kits that one should always be within thirty feet of an emergency."

"Research and Development will give you some high D-rank to mid C-rank jutsu scrolls once your fighting style is more firmly developed."

This brought a broad grin to Naruto's face. After a minute's pause, everyone looked at the Civilian Council

Akimoto Toyo, representing the merchant guilds, spoke up before another warning could come from the Hokage. "Members of the merchants guilds will sell your clan their goods at a five percxent discount."

Genji Dai followed immediately, "the craftsmen guilds will sell your clan pre-crafted items at a five percent discount."

For the first time since introducing himself, Yamaha Matsu - in charge of the department that controls the importing and exporting of raw materials and natural resources - spoke. "In regards to the raw materials needed for the building of your clan compound, you will receive the first 5,000 ryo worth free, and any needed beyond that will come at a ten percent discount."

After another minute of silence, Sarutobi started up the next part. "Alright, now to the land offering. I know that the vast majority of the shinobi and civilian council _can't_ make this kind of offering, so I won't expect too many of you to make land offers. So how about we just go through and have everyone state how many acres they're willing to buy for Naruto's clan as a good starting point, okay?"

Hiashi said, "One acre."

"Six acres," Shibi said.

Tsume said, "Ten acres."

Chouza spoke up, "One acre."

Kanaye said, "Two acres."

Shikaku said, "Five acres..."

After a moment, Sarutobi said, "Do any not from the clans wish to purchase land for Naruto's clan?"

"'R&D' will pay for three acres."

"Ninja Financial department will give three general use acres plus a fifteen acre training field for clan use."

"Civilian Financial department will give five acres."

After another minute, Sarutobi gave a nod of his head, then said, "So that's a total of fifty-one acres, thirty-six for general use and fifteen to be made a training field. Shall we move to the last item on offerings for the clan?" Seeing a general agreement, Sarutobi continued, "Well, this will be direct monetary offerings for the clan to stay. I should make this clear... this money can be considered a gift, not a loan. I also understand that many departments under the shinobi and civilian sectors don't have any money in their budgets that could be offered here, so that's alright. Now, let's have the clans start us off again."

"2,000 ryo," Hiashi said.

"1,000 ryo," Shibi said.

Tsume said, "3,000 ryo."

Chouza gave a, "1,500 ryo."

"3,000 ryo," came from Kanaye.

Shikaku drawled out a, "1,000 ryo."

Not waiting, Matsuo Jiro said, "In addition to pulling a monthly collection from our shinobi customers for the next year, the Ninja Financial department will offer up 4,500 ryo."

Following quickly, Haruno Ruri said, "Likewise, in addition to pulling a monthly collection from our civilian customers for the next year, the Civilian Financial department will offer up 3,000 ryo."

Feeling the Hokage's eyes on him, Tadeshi Hiroshi spoke up, "the Village Treasury will give your clan 7,000 ryo as a gift."

Before the Hokage could speak, Naruto asked, "Haruno-san, Matsuo-san. What do you mean by 'collections'? How does that work?"

Ruri decided she would answer him, "Naruto-san, a collection is simply where we offer our customers a chance to give money to this or that cause, either anonymously or by name. When I said it was a 'monthly collection', I simply meant that the money collected would be sent to you or your clan account at the end of each fiscal month." Looking over to Matsuo Jiro, Ruri asked, "Does your department plan to do it any differently?"

When Jiro shook his head to the negative, Ruri turned back to Naruto and asked, "Does that answer all your questions, Naruto-san?" Naruto nodded as an answer.

Seeing no more questions were coming, Sarutobi said, "Now the councils offers are done, with the ryo offering coming to 26,000 ryo, plus whatever those collections turn out. The next step of this meeting, Naruto, is where you make your 'requests' of the village. Of course the councils can question the reasoning of your requests or ask for clarification, just like you could question their offers... so, what is it, beyond what was already offered, that you wish to ask of us?"

Naruto sighed and frowned, then spoke. "This is the part that will be hardest for Konoha to do. Not because these things are huge demands, but because the villagers have been against these things being mine since the day they knew what I carried." A quiet murmur moved through the councils for a minute before he continued, "the first demand I have should be the most obvious one for me to make - the immediate and permanent stopping of my public persecution because of what I carry."

Akahata was the voice heard over the commotion that statement brought. "Don't you think 'public persecution' is a bit _strong_ of a term to use? I mean, exaggerate much?"

"Well, then I'll just have to expand on that so you know what the hell I'm talking about. Getting thrown out of virtually any and every store in Konoha so I wouldn't 'taint the building with my vile presence.' Being charged double the normal price, or more, for third-rate items. The only clothing store that would allow me entrance sold me this and only this, at the cost of half my monthly rent for a single jumpsuit. Being barred from public places like the library and parks for no good reason. The refusal of every restaurant save for Ichiraku's Ramen Stand to give me service. Let's not forget the biggest one, though - the mobs that form to give me a beating because of what I carry, and sometimes to try and outright kill me." Aside from the grumbling of a number of members of the Civilian Council, the room was silent for several seconds after his statements. "All in all, I'm willing to bet none of that does too good for 'inspiring loyalty' in the target of all of it. Who wants to disagree with me?"

There was several minutes of silence while Naruto stood glaring at everyone, waiting for someone to speak up. An intentional cough from the Hokage broke the silence and brought all eyes to him. "Any more requests, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, and went on, "Because of being the founding member of a clan with kekkei genkai, I automatically fall under the CFA - which means I'm going to have multiple wives. My demand is this - none of my wives or children I may have in the future should have to put up with any of the crap I was just talking about just because of their relationship to me. I mean, what's the point of me even _trying_ to start a clan here if the village is going to try to destroy it?"

He waited for someone to contest his statement for a minute before going on. "Likewise, I don't want my clan's companions being treated horribly because of their connection to me or due to what they are."

"What do you mean 'due to what they are'? We still don't know what you're companions _are_..." Shikaku asked.

The question gave Naruto pause, as he was hoping to not tell them that he was working with foxes. After a minute's hesitation, he decided to simply be blunt in the answer. "Foxes." Among the civilian council, this caused some chaos, like he expected. When yet another burst of killing intent shut them up, Naruto continued, "I know Konoha villagers have a... habit of torturing and killing any foxes they can get their hands on in order to take out their misguided anger at Kyuubi, but I won't tolerate that any more. Not now that the foxes are a part of me and mine."

The continued killing intent of the Hokage died down after a couple minutes, and Naruto waited until it did, since he wanted the civilian council members to remember his words and not just the brain-numbing fear from the Hokage. "Yet another thing I shouldn't have to demand but do - the right, for myself, my clan's companions, and members of my clan, to defend myself, my clan's companions, and members of my clan from attacks by use of however much force is necessary."

"Why do you have to ask for that? I would think that's a given." 'Ryu' asked.

"It should be. But I recall the one time I defended myself from my attackers, a dozen lethally armed civilians who had chased me into the forest. I was eight at the time, and barely managed to punch one of them in the thigh before they were all over me. In the end, they had broken a good number of my bones and continued to strike and stab me after I lost consciousness. I woke up in a jail cell, being tried by the civilian courts for 'attempted murder.' The only thing that saved me from the chopping block was the visiting ambassador from the Fire Diamyo. You _shouldn't_ be surprised to find he was appaled at what the courts were doing and threatened to report the ridiculous abuse of the legal system if they didn't _'cease the madness at once'_."

Everyone not on the civilian council was now glaring at the civilian council, and Ruri and Etsu were glaring at Akahata.

"All in all, I'm not really asking for much more than for me, my clan, and our companions to be treated with common courtesy and dignity that every person deserves. I don't expect respect, 'cause that should be earned and not given. To be quite honest, despite how easy my requests should be to meet, I doubt the village will manage it, so there's one last demand I have."

The Hokage raised his eyebrow at this. "Oh? Since you say the village won't meet your 'requests' so far, why are you adding another one?"

"Because, this 'request' deals with what happens when the village fails." Many members of the councils, Hokage included, raised eyebrows at this. "If and when the village fails to meet my 'requests', they'll have renigged the contract that keeps me _and my clan _here, working for the village. Were that to happen, me, my clan, and our foxes would pack up and leave this place. We'll take all our money and valuables, while leaving behind all our debts to the village. There's a little thing in my wording of this, because any woman who marries me - or anyone who marries one of my descendants - _will be_ a member of the clan, and they'll leave with the clan, free of any charges of going rogue or being a missing-nin. If any shinobi of Konoha chases us, we'll kill them and mail you back the pieces. If any shinobi of Konoha is _sent_ after us by anyone in the village, Hokage included, I'll come back to Konoha and break the seal on my stomach without a second thought. This time she'll actually have a reason to raze you to the ground, and I'll have every reason to let her. For those of you who missed the memo," Naruto glared at the civilian council majority, "I'm extremely protective of those I care about, and the only loyalty I have right now is to my clan. I owe Konoha no loyalty right now."

"Then why are we even having this meeting?" Kanaye asked.

"If you get me to agree to staying, my clan will owe Konoha it's loyalty. If the village goes back on the pre-agreed 'payment' for said loyalty, why should my clan continue to give it? Besides, before a clan joins a village, it never has any loyalty to the village, only to its clan."

"That is agreeable." Everyone's heads turned to the Sandaime Hokage, who had just spoken. "Naruto, is that all of your 'requests'?" Naruto gave a nod in affirmation. "Do any of you have any further questions for each other?" No one spoke or gestured a response. "Very well then. Naruto, if you would be so kind as to leave us to discuss the first contract attempt's details amongst ourselves..."

Naruto got halfway to the door before he turned to ask, "Not to rush you or anything, but when could I expect to see your proposal on paper?"

Umari Ryo spoke up, "Why? There's no reason to rush this out."

"Actually, there is." Everyone raised an eyebrow at Naruto's words again. "Five days from today is the Genin team selection. If I don't know whether I should take this village's attempt to make my clan a part of it serious before then, it would be unfair to myself, my potential genin teammates, and Iruka-sensei - who has to organize the genin teams - for me to stay. If I join a genin team and then have to leave because we can't reach an agreement, my team would suddenly lose a team member and be unbalanced compared to the other teams. On the other hand, if I decide to wait here without joining a team until I know I'm here to stay, Iruka will have to find a way to place me with a team from the next graduating class, to who I would be, and who to me would be, a complete stranger. In such a case, our initial teamwork and mission effectiveness would suffer for a good while. On top of that, in two weeks, my next month's rent is due. Since I'm not currently a citizen of Konoha, and am unemployed until I join a village, I currently have no desire to waste my meager savings on rent while waiting on you to discuss something at your leisure. So even if I stay after genin team selections without a definite decision of whether to stay or go, I won't stay past that two week mark. So we've got five days for me to see the first draft of that 'contract' and two weeks for a final decision." Naruto then turned back around and walked out.

"Before we begin this last step of the process, I want some things to be perfectly clear," the members of the three councils looked at the Hokage. "Akahata-san, as head of the Health and Safety department, you know virtually all of Konoha's and Hi no Kuni's laws and regulations, correct?" A nod. "Tell me, what is the crime called when one of the citizens sells gear to one of our ninja that the seller is fully aware is substandard to the point that it would likely result in the ninja's death? Or one refuses to provide, for reasonable compensation, what said shinobi needs to perform their job?"

"Treason by sabotage."

"And what, pray tell, is the crime called when a citizen attacks one of the military's personnel without legally acceptable provocation?"

"Treason by attempted homicide."

"What is it called, then, when an individual or group gets together to plan harm or death of one or more of the military's personnel?"

"Treason by insurruction."

"Last crime now, what is it called when a citizen either is aware of such crimes and does not alert the authorities as able or otherwise helps or encourages such crimes?"

"Conspiracy to commit treason."

"Hmm... interesting. 'Ryu'-san."

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"What penalty exists for any form of treason?"

"If caught in the act, execution on the spot. If not, trial and immediate execution if found guilty."

"I thought so." The stifling killing intent of the 'God of Shinobi' bore down on all the councils. "Hear this and listen well. I intend for Naruto to become one of _our_ shinobi, so _when_ he does, breaking any of his request will be considered treason. But more than that, since all those businesses and shinobi in divisions need to be reminded of as much, if the appropriate people on these councils fail to inform them of as much, I'll consider them conspirators to treason, and I'll kill them myself." Stunned silence met this decleration. "For the heads of shinobi factions this is just as important, since if one of your subordinates sees this happen and does absolutely nothing to fix or stop it, that makes them a conspirator, which - by extension - makes _you_ a conspirator. I will not tolerate the life of _any_ traitors. Does everyone understand this, or does someone need me to use smaller words?"

No one responded, so the Hokage finally reeled his killing intent back, letting most of the civilans breathe, and all of the shinobi breathe easier. "Since the civilian sector will have the hardest time dealing with this issue, I'll let them spend some time discussing among themselves what exactly they plan to do to prevent any 'unnecessary deaths.' I expect most of the shinobi council to discuss an effective means to pass down their _reminder_ as to this protocol. As for the clan heads... discuss among yourselves the best place for land placement for Naruto's clan compound. Matsuo Jiro, Haruno Ruri, and Tadeshi Hiroshi will join me at this table to discuss a number of things regarding finances and Naruto." Said members of the Civilian and Shinobi councils stood and moved over to the Sandaime's table, where the Elder Council members usually sat with him.

"Before anyone gets really started on their conversations, I should point out that arranged marriage contract proposals for Naruto can be handed to me starting tomorrow and will go to Naruto with the first draft of the 'contract'. I'll also point out that the 'contract' and all arranged marriage contract proposals will each be separate, so accepting one does not automatically mean accepting any of the others. And if not definitively accepted or rejected, the proposals stand for six months unless specified otherwise."

The three councils and the Hokage's financial team went to work, each on their own 'subject of interest'. A number of individuals, while this was going on, were considering making arranged marriage contract proposals between someone in their family or clan and Naruto.

Three Days Later (two days before team selection announcements)

For the last three days, pretty much ever since Naruto had left the Council chambers, he had been living in his father's estate. Although no one outside the Councils and the two ANBU they'd assigned as runners knew it. In order to 'avoid causing a public disturbance', Naruto had agreed that not being seen entering, exiting, or walking in the yard that once belonged to the Yondaime was better than being seen by some civilians or even ninja. Naruto knew what kind of 'public disturbance' would result from that.

Hence the runners. If he needed anything, or the Council needed to pass messages to him regarding what they were discussing, one of the ANBU pair would shunshin to do it for him, as simply using the front gate normally would result in the people who saw it getting curious about what they were doing _there_.

However, that wasn't why Naruto was talking to the runner right now. "Bear-san, please, if you can't bring them here, help me get there. I need their advice." Here he waved the bag filled to almost bursting with scrolls, only two of which he had found to be his actual 'contract' to join the village. The rest were a different kind of proposed contract, ones involving women and binding ceremonies. Naruto wasn't sure which he needed advice for more, but he knew who to ask first.

'Bear' sighed and shook his head, then said, "Where do you need to go?"

"Alright!" Naruto thrust his free fist into the sky. "Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, here I come!"

There was a good minute with Naruto and 'Bear' stood there staring at each other before 'Bear' spoke again. "Do you really need advice from a _ramen stand_ worker, or are you just getting hungry again? Because I can grab some take-out from the stand if food is what you really need there..." He trailed off at the sour look on Naruto's face.

"I need to go there for advice. Teuchi-osan always gives the best advice to live by. And besides... they're the closest thing I've ever had to a family..."

Breaking the silence before it could become awkward, Bear simply made an 'ah' sound before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and 'shunshin'ing them to the roof opposite the ramen stand. Then he jumped away, pretending to have nothing to do with Naruto while still keeping an eye on him.

Naruto looked down at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand before shouldering the overlarge sack filled with scrolls and jumping down to the entrance of said stand. "Hey, Teuchi-osan, Ayame-neechan. I... I need some advice. Can you close up shop for a little bit, since you don't usually get much business in the mornings, and we can talk in the back?"

The Ichiraku's Living Room, Behind Their Ramen Stand, Several Minutes Later

Ayame looked a bit dazed and Teuchi seemed to be starting to get a headache, given the way he was massaging his forehead with the thumb and fingers of his left hand. "Let me see if I understand, Naruto... You awakened some kind of hereditary power that you're the first to have." Naruto nods. "The result of which, politically, is that you're in a position to gain a lot, but you have to decide which village to give your clan's loyalty to, and you have to start a clan by marrying a bunch of women and making babies?" Teuchi looked incredulous at the end of his sentence.

"Um... Yep! That pretty much sums it up, Teuchi-osan!" Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his neck.

"And all those scrolls," Ayame was pointing towards the huge bag Naruto had brought in, "save two, are marriage contract proposals, most of which you've never met and don't recognise the names on?"

"Yeah."

"So what do you need to ask us?" Teuchi asked.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as he spoke, "Well... should I stay? I mean, this whole village - minus the two of you and Hokage-jiji - has pretty much been rotten to me since the day I was born, so should I go looking for a better place to bring up my new clan? And if I go... will you two go with me? If I stay, will you two be my clan chefs? And-" Naruto's questioning went from worried and contemplative to nervous and almost panicked, "-and what should I do about the marriage proposals? When I was given the scrolls, I was told this was just the 'first wave' and that more would be coming once word spread through the village about my kekkei genkai, that these were just from council members' families, and-and-and..." Naruto grabbed his hair like he wanted to pull it out. "There's just _too much_ to decide and not enough time! ARGHHH!"

Naruto was panting, trying to calm down from his frantic questioning, the full weight of what he had to decide on had finally come to bear on him. Teuchi clapped a hand onto his shoulder, stopping Naruto's panicked thoughts. "Naruto, it's best to focus on one thing at a time. Trying to focus on everything just makes the problems bigger."

"I-I didn't mean to freak out like that. It's just..." Naruto trailed off.

"Well, why don't I answer your questions first. If you leave... I don't think it will be possible for us to go with you..." Teuchi said. Seeing Naruto's sad look, he decided more explanation was in order. "Naruto, we have a business and house here that we'd have to sell, we'd need to get papers to leave the country, we'd need to arrange for transport of all our possessions, and then we'd have to _hope_ that whatever village you go to would allow us in, rather than assuming we're civilian spies and turning us away at the gate or worse. You, all you have to do is pack up your stuff and go. From the way you described it, that 'Clan Kekkei Genkai' scroll will act as the perfect passport anywhere, and I doubt anyplace but Iwa would turn you away from their gates. It could take months just for us to prepare to leave, and what would you do in that time? Sit around and wait for us? While pouring out money just to keep eating and having no money coming in?"

"I see. I didn't think of it that way..."

"As for being your clan chef, we'd be honored to take such a position, although I'd ask that you let us keep our ramen stand open between breakfast and dinner. Suddenly shutting down our stand would upset all our regular customers, and you wouldn't want to deny anybody the wonder that is Ichiraku's ramen, would you?" Ayame quietly laughed at how thick her dad was laying it on, and both Ichiraku were happy to see Naruto smile at the man's words.

"Of course not, Ichiraku-jisan! That would practically be heresy against the divine wonder that is ramen!" Ayame laughed a bit harder when she realized Naruto was serious.

Getting serious again, Teuchi began answering Naruto's earlier questions, "As for whether you should stay or go, well, I'd prefer you stay, but I'm obviously biased on that, and I'm sure my daughter feels the same." Ayame nodded to let Naruto know she did. "If you want an impartial oppinion on the matter, and since you're certain she's innocent of any wrong from 12 years ago, why don't you ask Kyuubi?"

"Uh... I didn't think to ask her. I guess she would be the closest I could find to an unbiased opinion in this village after you two... I guess I'll talk to her tonight, after clearing up everything else."

"In regards to the marriage thing... well, I'm pretty biased _against_ the whole thing, but the laws here and at pretty much every other village will require so many wives and children by a certain age, so no doubt you have little choice here or anyplace else. However, I would suggest you talk to the Hokage about that, since he'll probably offer a lot better advice than I could on that kind of matter."

"I guess I'll have to make an appointment to talk to him later... and aside from the two of you, he is the only other I trust absolutely..." This brought a saddened smile to both Ichiraku's. "Well, that's all what I came here to say and ask about, so I guess I should be heading back out there and let you two get back to making that wondrous ramen."

"Say, Naruto. What else do you need to clear up?" Teuchi asked.

"Ah, just some things, stuff you wouldn't know the answer to just because you're not in a position to know this kind of stuff. See you later, jiji." With that, Naruto stepped out into the restaurant and continued out into the street, where he met up with his ANBU runner on the rooftop.

"I need an appointment with the Hokage for late this evening, ask him to make it the last appointment he'll have today. Also, I need to go to the Inuzuka's compound right now. I need to ask them a couple questions..."

Inuzuka Clan Compound, Near the Outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato

A knock at the gates of the Inuzuka's compound brought one of the Inuzuka men, along with his two canine partners. Finding an ANBU with a Bear mask and 'that kid'. While he - and the clan as a whole - had nothing against the young jinchuuriki for what he carried, every member of the clan - and their packmates - were well aware of his love of pranking. Most still remembered the stinkbombs he released on the compound when he was eight, followed by the chase in which the eight year old boy _succeeeded _in _losing_ more than half the clan and their pack. Fortunately, four years was long enough to lose a grudge over such a prank.

Still wary of the kid, the Inuzuka spoke, "What can I do for the two of you?"

Noticing the way the gateman was watching his charge, 'Bear' decided to stick with him until he was with someone who he knew wouldn't hurt him. "We need to speak to Tsume-sama on some important matters. Is she here or at the Council chambers presently?"

Thinking for a minute and sniffing the air, the guard answered, "I believe she's here, right now. If you wish, I can escort you to the clan meeting hall and have her meet you there..."

"That is acceptable. When you inform her of our presence, please tell her that the conversation we will have has to do with Naruto-san. She'll understand what that means." The four of them began walking into the compound, with one of the dogs staying near the gate to keep watch.

"Yeah, yeah."

Inuzuka's Clan Meeting Hall, Ten Minutes Later

The 'Inuzuka Clan Meeting Hall' looked more like a clan mess hall to Naruto. Close to two dozen round tables with seating for eight people (or their pack members, in this case), boistrously loud conversations between people obviously enjoying themselves and each others' company as they ate, joked, laughed, and kicked back.

From what he could smell, Naruto knew their food was delicious _and_ healthy, something that both did and didn't surprise him. He would have expected on first thought that they ate nothing but meat, but on further reflection wasn't surprised that they wouldn't allow their pack such an unhealthily unbalanced diet (nor would their pack allow them). So caught up in his surroundings, he didn't even realize someone was approaching from practically in front of him and his escort.

'Bear', however, sensed Tsume's approach, so he turned to greet her, drawing Naruto's attention as he turned. "Greetings, Tsume-sama."

"Hello Bear, Naruto-san. Are you here in regards to the Councils' proposals in regards to your clan, or the marriage proposal in regards to my daughter?"

Naruto appeared stunned, as he hadn't looked at _all_ of the marriage proposals he'd received or seen one for any Inuzuka. Stepping in to speak and give Naruto a chance to gather himself, 'Bear' said, "Tsume-sama, I'll leave Naruto in your care while I go take care of something absolutely necessary at the Hokage's Tower. I should be back within twenty minutes, and I'll wait for Naruto by the gate. Naruto-san," he turned to face Naruto, "I'll see you when you're done here, alright?"

Naruto gave a nod, and the ANBU Shunshin'ed away. "Ah... Tsume-sama, two things I want to ask you about..."

"Tsume."

"Huh?" Naruto looked a bit confused.

"You aren't a subordinate of mine and you're a clan head yourself, so you're equal position to me. And I ain't a stick-up-the-ass Hyuuga or a kiss-my-ass Uchiha, either, so just call me Tsume, Naruto." She gave him an even look to let him know she was dead serious.

"Alright... Tsume. Why'd you put your daugther up for marriage to me? I don't think I've even _met_ her, much less know her, and that's not how I'd like to marry someone." Naruto had a 'scrunched up, thinking hard' face on, like he was trying to figure out the answer to his own question even as he asked it.

Tsume grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him into a side room with a table and chairs, then shut the door and performed some handseals. After the walls and door flashed green, Tsume turned to Naruto and said, "Promise me you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you? Especially Hana?" Naruto nodded, assuming Hana must be the daughter's name. "The 'why' is kind of complicated, but it boils down to this... when Kiba becomes clan head, he'll give Hana hell you can't believe. Hana can't become clan head for the Inuzuka because our clan charter states that the clan head _must_ be of _full_ jounin rank and some old injuries of hers gaurantees she'll never be able to become more than chuunin, maybe special jounin at the most. This will probably be my last chance to save her from that. As for not knowing her, that's what the waiting period is for."

Naruto just looked more confused at that. "Waiting period?"

Seeing his face was genuinely confused, Tsume decided to just explain, and hurt the people who didn't think to tell him this stuff later on. "The mariage proposals all have a default six month period before you 'have to' answer, and you can always ask for an extension on that time limit if you don't feel ready to make that decision yet. That period is usually used to get to know each other. Dating, hanging out, missions together if they're kunoichi, that sort of thing. Now what's the other thing you came here to ask?"

"Ah... well... you're the most approachable clan head I know, and your clan is the one whose needs in a compound would be closest to mine, so..." Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "...could you maybe provide information or advice in regards to whether what the village council is offering will fit with what my clan might need to get set up here? Or if not, could you point me in the right direction, Tsume?"

"Well... I'm not _old_ enough to have been around when the Inuzuka joined, but the records in our clan's recordkeeping area should be thorough enough to give an idea of the needs to set up a compound of similar make-up to ours. I'll take you there and stay to help my mate explain anything. It'll be nice to actually put some of the duller things I had to learn to be clan head to use for once."

"Your 'mate'? You mean your husband?" Naruto asked, following Tsume as she left the clan meeting hall and headed towards a building that looked like a single-room shack.

"No. Basically, the Inuzuka clan charter states that the clan head is the only one who can give permission to marry to a member of the clan and they can't give themselves permission. Taking a mate is basically a way around the whole 'can't marry without permission' thing, but it only counts to the clan. Basically, he's my husband in all but name and law."

Having reached the shack, Tsume rapped her knuckles on the doorframe twice and then pushed open the door, revealing a room with scrollshelves along three walls and a large square table with three old chairs, behind which was a man in a wheelchair. Naruto was then treated to the sight of Tsume walking up to the man and leaning down to give him a smoldering kiss.

"Hey, love," The man's voice was rough with disuse. "What brings you to this mudspot, and with a guest, too."

"Mate, on your last resorting of the scrolls in here, where did you put the information regarding the building and supplying of this compound?"

Looking at Naruto, Tsume's mate tilted his head questioningly for a moment, then spoke. "Ah, you must be the 'new clan' that might be joining us? Looking for a basis of comparison or a good model for a compound setup, huh?" While talking, the man wheeled over to the right wall (from where Naruto's standing at the door) and got down a scroll near the top of the shelves using a clearly handmade stick-like device obviously for putting up and taking down scrolls from his chair. "Well come in and take a seat. And shut the door behind you, kid."

As Naruto shut the door, the man tossed the scroll to Tsume, who sat in a chair at a corner of the table and rolled out the scroll across the flat surface. She pulled up a chair on her right side and gave Naruto a look that he clearly understood meant he was going to sit there, and he saw her mate pull up on her other side.

Before anyone began reading the scroll, Tsume's mate spoke up in a semi-lecturing tone, "Just remember that there are a good number of variables are different now than they were when this document was made."

"What do you mean, Tsu- er, I forgot to ask your name... or give mine... sorry. I'm-"

"Naruto-san, I know who you are. And you can call me Keiji, Naruto-san. The first and most obvious example I can think of is the cost of wood."

At Naruto's confused look, Tsume barked out a laugh, "Naruto, when the Inuzuka joined Konoha, the Shodaime Hokage was still with us. You couldn't cut down the forest as fast as he could regrow it. Wood was practically as plentiful and cheap as sand in Kaze no Kuni's desserts. Not so much now, though."

"Of course, on the flip side, when the Inuzuka joined the village, they were a sizable clan with a large pack of canine companions. They needed enough housing and shelter immediately for that large number plus room for 10 percent expansion over the next decade or two. Your housing needs right now are limited to you and any wives you might marry, and the next generation, plus shelter for your companions and the next generation's. So you won't need nearly as much right off the bat as the Inuzuka compound did."

Naruto was looking more confounded by the minute, so Jiro decided to take a more hands-on approach to the issue. "Oi, Naruto! Why don't we take a look at what the council's offering you to stay, so we have a starting point to work from."

As Naruto pulled out the scroll, Tsume moved to the part of the scroll that described the dimensions of the land given originally to the Inuzuka clan by Konoha. "Of course, we're talking about wood as though it's the only building material out there. You could also build with stone, concrete, or bricks, though all those are still more expensive than wood. Not to mention a bit more permanent."

Taking the scroll offered by Naruto, Tsume moved to the maps contained in the scroll showing exactly what lands were being offered for his clan compound. "And here we are... Let's start up with the walls surrounding your compound itself."

"The walls?"

"Yeah. For the clans in the city, they have fences that look nice or walls to keep out the 'lesser citizens' or a few for security, but both our clans are out in the forest of Konoha, so our compounds need to keep out dangerous wild animals as well. Wood fencing is out of the question in this case, whereas stone or cement might be overkill. Our compound, as you probably noticed, has very high, reinforced chain link fencing, similar to that around Training Area 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death. And... given that your compound's circumference will be that... cost of fencing... add in cost of posts... and labor..." Jiro was writing numbers quickly on a scrap of unused paper. Sliding he paper over to Naruto, he said, "that's an estimate of the cost of surrounding your compound with the chain link, going stone, brick, or cement will cost a _lot_ more, and while wood will cost a bit less up front, the constant drain of repairs will quickly make it the worst option."

Looking at the cost, Naruto was glad to have this decision made. "Yeah, I think this would be the way to go for me." Even if he decided on another village, chain link fencing was still his top option.

"Now that the easy decision for building is out of the way, let's move on to the harder stuff..." And so the two spent several hours helping Naruto design his initial clan compound, including: a vet-nin clinic - which they explained would be a bit more expensive to supply than their own due to needing custom-made or special-order equipment and medicine for foxes; housing for up to twenty people comfortably; shelter for the companions who choose not to sleep in their humans' rooms; a training ground; storage sheds; and last of all, his own clan recordkeeping shack. They also explained in that time how Naruto's cost for medical personnel for his clan would be greater than an average clan due to how hard it would be to find and hire vetrinarians with experience helping foxes and no clan members who are vet-nins themselves, plus the whole starting clan thing equals needing multiple mid-wives on hand without any med-nins in his clan. When Naruto asked what kind of things were kept in the clans' recordkeeping shacks, Tsume and Jiro looked at each other for a moment.

Jiro answered, "stuff like records of the clan history, bookkeeping records, clan technique scrolls, any legal documents like marriage certificates or birth and death records for members of the clan, and - probably most used of all - the primary copy of the full clan charter."

"What is this 'clan charter' you two keep mentioning?"

Tsume answered this one. "It's basically a set of rules the clan sets out to govern themselves in what is considered 'clan affairs'. Things like establishing a clan account versus personal accounts, what uses are permitted for the clan account and which require personal funds, how the clan account is funded, what rules the clan must abide by and the punishment for breaking clan rules, and - most importantly - how the clan makes decisions or new rules for the charter inside of itself. One of the first rules you'll want to set out will be the ones regarding leadership and the clan accounts."

Hearing a knock at the door, Naruto is surprised to see the door turn transparent for a moment, showing 'Bear' waiting on the other side. "I guess I should head out now..." Looking through the window, he sees the hues of red that indicate the sun will set soon. "Thanks for all the help, Tsume, Jiro..." Picking up the scroll he brought and all the notes they made to help him design his compound, Naruto went outside to join 'Bear', for one last quick stop before the meeting with the Hokage - hoping he could catch this individual before they left work.

Academy Classroom

Dashing down the halls of the Ninja Academy, and skidding to a halt in front of a door he was vey well acquanted with, Naruto composed himself for just a moment... before ruining it by bursting into the room and belting out, "HEY, IRUKA-SENSEI!"

Completely unperturbed, Iruka simply said, "Hello, Naruto-san." Looking up from the heap of files and a scroll he's writing on with a releived/pained smile on his face that anyone who knows the agony of paperwork would recognise, Iruka asks, "So, what brings you here, Naruto-san? And you know I'll only be your sensei for a few more days, so you don't _have_ to call me that."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as he answered, "yeah, well, you were the only one here who actually tried to teach me... so you'll always be Iruka-sensei to me. What's with the 'san', anyway?"

"You're a clan head now, Naruto, whether your clan stays in this village or takes off. I would call you 'sama', but then we'd risk your ego getting as big as 'Sasuke-sama'." Iruka grinned as Naruto made a face at the thought of becoming like Sasuke. "But could you tell me what brought you here, Naruto? I've got to finish my work on the team lists before tomorrow, when I have to hand them over to Hokage-sama so he can let the jounin-sensei know which students are theirs and give them access to their personal files. This time it's only more complicated because of your situation..." Iruka sighed.

"Actually, that's kind of why I want to talk to you..." Iruka looked at Naruto questioningly. "It would be easier to decide one way or the other if I knew who I was going to be teamed up with and why."

Iruka scratched his chin and took a thinking pose, as though thinking hard about it. "Well, normally, no student gets any knowledge of their teams before everyone else..." Seeing Naruto beginning to pout put a sly smile on Iruka's face, which he quickly hid. "... but, this is hardly a normal case. So I guess I can let you in on it." Naruto went from pouting to cheering.

"Quiet down, Naruto."

Naruto was cheering and dancing, completely ignoring him.

"I said, QUIET DOWN!" Naruto was once again subjected to Iruka's patented 'Giant Demon Head' jutsu, complete with ground-shaking volume and lots of spit flying out of Iruka's mouth. He immediately not only quit cheering, but sat down - on the floor he was previously dancing on - and paid attention.

Clearing his throat, Iruka glanced at the list he was working on before speaking, "Assuming you're staying, the other two members of your team would be Yamanaka Ino and Tsukamu Ami. Ami would perform best as a close range fighter with minor genjutsu skills to broaden her capabilities. Ino's best function would be as a long to mid-range fighter, using genjutsu or her clan's abilities to aid in interrogations and captures. You would function best as a close to mid-range fighter, tracker, and damage sponge, as between your large chakra capacity for ninjutsu, your kage bunshin to deal and absorb damage for yourself and teammates, and your kekkei genkai's abilities, these positions best suit you. This would form an all purpose team with a leaning towards tracking, capturing, and either interrogating, capturing, or assassinating targets."

"..." Naruto looked as though deep in thought on the floor. "So... who's gonna be our jounin-sensei?"

"Actually, I don't decide that." Seeing the question coming, Iruka moved to stop it with an answer. "The Hokage and jounin will decide that once they get my list of teams and reasonings. They have a better idea than I do who can best teach what to which students."

"Naruto-san," both shinobi jumped a bit, having either failed to notice or forgetting about 'Bear'. "Since you've got the question you wanted answered, we should hurry to your appointment with Hokage-sama. It won't make a good impression on anyone if you are late..."

"Bye, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka shook his head and chuckled, watching the masked ANBU take off after Naruto to cover him, and thinking to himself _'I hope you stick around, Naruto. Konoha won't be the same without it's #1 knuckle-headed, loudmouthed, most surprising ninja...'_

Hokage's Office

Sitting behind a desk that was (miraculously) free of paperwork, the Sandaime looked at Naruto, who was trying his best to appear laid back and unconcerned - feet used to keep the chair he was sitting leaning back in on it's back two legs.

"Naruto."

The illusion of 'relaxed Naruto' was completely shattered by Naruto falling the rest of the way backwards in his chair, the hands that were behind his neck flailing wildly, and rolling back into the wall.

The Hokage sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Naruto... what is it you needed to talk to me about?"

"Ah... I need advice. It kinda has to do with... ya know... all the marriage proposal contracts and stuff..." Naruto was scratching the back of his neck and blushing slightly. "I mean... based on what I know, I doubt most of these gir- women even know they're put up for this, much less approve or volunteered for it... what do I do, jiji?"

Sandaime sighed, knowing this was a tough thing to deal with, even for him. He still had to deal with rejecting a proposal contract or two for his grandson every year. "My advice would be to first reject the proposal regarding any civilians, for two reasons. One, they're most likely social climbers or gold diggers who want to use you for their own benefit. Two, with rare exceptions, civilian wives have a hard time accepting or understanding the demands on an active shinobi's time and life. It'll cause you a lot of unnecessary grief to take one. After that, I'd reccommend talking with the girls or women in question to better determine what they want or why they were 'put up' in the first place. You can decide better whether to accept or reject them from there."

Naruto gave a deep sigh. "I'll just be glad when this is over with." Seeing the Third giving him a pitying look, Naruto doubted he'd like the answer to the question he had to ask next. "What's wrong?"

The old Kage felt great sympathy for Naruto for what he had to tell him, but knew the truth would prepare him better than false platitudes. "I'm sorry to say this, but the proposals are just beginning."

"WHAT? But... but there's like thirty proposals here!"

"Naruto... those proposals came from the only people who currently know of your kekkei genkai and rising position right now, the members of the Councils, and their close family or immediate subordinates. When the announcement is made to the whole village, a much larger number will come pouring in to you almost immediately, mostly from yet more self-serving people. Then, once they see what kind of person you are, the unclanned shinobi, more discerning of civilian families, and people with children or younger siblings will start to send in the contract proposals. Once you've built a reputation for yourself outside of Konoha, proposals from abroad and other shinobi villages will start to come in. By this time, you'll probably have children, so you'll have to deal with proposals for them as well. It never ends, once it starts."

Naruto sat unmoving, his mouth and eyes open wide, for a full two minutes. Eventually, his brain started working again, and he got up to leave more confounded with his predicament than he was when he first arrived, _despite_ getting good advice. "Naruto." Hand on the handle of the door, Naruto turned his face back to the Hokage.

"While you're here, I ought to ask you... what do you plan to change your clan name to?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When a new clan is founded," Sarutobi sighed, "the founder of the clan _must_ give it a new clan name. I understand you may be reluctant to change your clan name, but consider this - do you want to be stuck living in your father's shadow everywhere you go once your heritage is revealed, or do you want to make a new name for yourself and your family?"

Looking concerned, Naruto asked, "Won't I lose any claim to my mom's and dad's stuff if I break from the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan name?"

Here Sarutobi gave a jovial grin. "Don't be silly, Naruto. You were named the sole heir of both your parents' clans, so all belongings of both clans became your _personal_ belongings. All that would be yours as Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto will still be yours as Color-me-orange Naruto." Here the Hokage chuckled, and was glad to see Naruto concentrating on what to call his clan rather than the whole proposals issue.

After several minutes of mutterings, quiet arguements with himself, and not so quiet back-and-forth decision making discussions with himself, Naruto looked at the Hokage with a determined glint in his eyes and said, "My clan is gonna call itself-"

Later That Night, Naruto's Mindscape, Outside Kyuubi's Cage

Standing knee-deep in water in front of gigantic cage doors, Naruto was wildly waving a pointing finger at something inside the cage, while spluttering, choking, and gaping with his eyes as wide as they could get.

Yes, he knew Kyuubi was female. Yes, he remembered that kitsune were supposed to be shapeshifters. No, he did not expect to come here to find a smoking hot MILF furry in a string bikini that might as well be made from three postage stamps and some floss.

"Naruto-chan, I wondered when you'd visit me again. It does get lonely with no one but myself to talk to, you know," Kyuubi's eyes were gentler and sadder than the last time he saw them, but the last time was in the middle of a fight for his life.

Naruto had the good grace to look remorseful, he knew what loneliness was like himself. He made a promise to himself that he'd make certain to visit each night, if he was able. This also conveniently stopped his previous shock cold, and allowed the typical Naruto response to the situation: shrug, accept it, and move forward.

"So, Naruto-kun, do you want to ask the question, or do you just want me to give my thoughts on leaving or staying?" At Naruto's surprised look, she said, "don't forget that I live in your head. I can experience the world through your eyes and ears. The only times I can't do that is when you're dreaming or when you're here."

"Well, what do you think I should do?"

Reaching through the bars, Kyuubi ruffled Naruto's hair, enjoying her first bit of physical contact with another being in a little over twelve years. Sighing pleasantly, she spoke softly, "I think you should make that decision for yourself. I also think it's a good idea to discuss pro's and con's with another person, or persons, like this, before you make such a major decision."

"That's not exactly an answer or even advice one way or the other, you know." Naruto pouted.

She sighed, "I'm not going to give a direct answer. This is your life. Free will, you know? I'm willing to discuss decisions with you, but not tell you what you should decide."

Naruto stopped and gave this thought. "So... pro's and con's then?"

Kyuubi smiled and gave a nod.

Two Days Later, Konoha's Ninja Academy, Iruka's Classroom

Iruka sat behind his desk, shuffling papers in his hand, looking at the students who looked back at him eagerly, all of them waiting on the bell to ring and team announcements to start. Though some members of the class were wondering what he was waiting for, seeing as everyone who graduated from their class was here, others were able to do simple math and realized they were one short of complete teams and he was probably waiting on a student graduating from a class with one extra to arrive to round them out. No one suspected who he was truly waiting for.

30 seconds before the bell was to ring, Iruka sighed, giving up hope for his student. _'I guess I can't blame you for not wanting to stay, Naruto.'_ Shuffling his papers again so he could read from the 'in case Naruto doesn't stay' team arrangements list, Iruka began to stand.

And the sliding door to the class slammed open, making all the eagerly nervous students jump and jerk their heads to the door. While gaping at the completely unexpected arrival standing there, they missed Iruka's wide smile.

"Sorry I'm late." Then the bell rang. "Whoops, I guess _now_ I'm sorry I'm late." Naruto said with his foxish smile.

"Come in and take your seat, Naruto. You barely made it."

Moving back to sit in one of the few empty spots in the class, Naruto is stopped by a jacket-covered arm barring his way.

"What are you doing here, Naruto-baka?" Kiba prodded. "Don't you know today is only for people who _passed_ the exam?"

Before Naruto could retort, Shino's voice came from behind Kiba. "He's wearing a hitai-ate, and Iruka invited him in to take a seat. He obviously belongs here, Kiba."

Leaving Kiba to his grumbling, Naruto nodded to Shino in thanks and continued toward the back tables to sit at the only empty one. Droning out Iruka's speech about their future lives as shinobi, Naruto wondered who his team's jounin-sensei would be. This quickly turned into a daydream about learning awesome jutsu, saving princesses, and winning his place as Hokage in the people's hearts at last.

Yanked from his daydreams by the sound of Iruka calling his name, " - and Harukimoto(5) Naruto are Team 7 under Uzuki Yugao; Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino are Team 8 under Yuuhi Kurenai; Team 9 will be Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Chouji, and Momo Hashi(6) under Sarutobi Asuma; and Uchiha Sasuke, Sai, and Haruno Sakura are Team 10 under Hatake Kakashi."

"Why am I on the same team as the dead last and that self-important 'I'm so tough' girl, while _she_-" Here Ino pointed violently in Sakura's general direction, " - is on a team with Sasuke-kun?!"

Before Iruka can say anything, Ami spoke up, "I'm more worried about _you_ being dead weight on our team than Naruto."

_"WHAT?!"_ The pitch and volume of Ino's screech reminded most of the class of Sakura's more... enraged moments. Except for Sakura herself.

Ami didn't back down from the screeching or even flinch. "You heard me. You were so dedicated to being a Sasuke _fangirl_ that not even your access to clan training could bring you up in the class rankings. You got beat out for top kunoichi of the class by Sakura, who had no ninja clan to draw on experience or resources from. That's pathetic, and shows you're more concerned about looks and boys than your job."

"Hmph! If I'm a fangirl for Sasuke, Naruto must be a fanboy for Sakura, so I don't see how you could think him better than me!"

"He didn't throw aside training hard or pushing himself for the sake of his crush, so it isn't fair to call him a fanboy. To fall so low... your father must feel so disappointed and ashamed in you."

When the ANBU drew everyone's eyes by shunshin'ing into the middle of the classroom (and thus in between the two girls), Iruka thanked every being he knew of for the prevention of what he knew would be a nasty catfight on his hands. This was followed near instantaneously by a sense of dread, wondering what reason an ANBU would have to arrive in the middle of a class. Tossing Iruka a message scroll, the ANBU shunshin'ed back out, and everyone's eyes were focused on the scroll in Iruka's hands.

Unrolling the scroll, Iruka read the contents quickly before setting it down. "Everyone... Hokage-sama has announced a village-wide call. Every member of Konoha, in Konoha right now, is _required_ to report to the central square around the Hokage's Tower in twenty minutes, where the Hokage will make some kind of announcement. After that announcement, you'll have an hour to get back here to meet your sensei, so I recommend using that hour to eat lunch and get to know your teammates better."

Ino was shooting Ami murderous glares, Ami was infuriating her more by pretending to ignore her, and Naruto was sweating bullets - both from the tension his teammates were creating with each other and from worries about how everyone would react to the Hokage's announcements, especially his secrets.

Central Square Around Hokage Tower

Milling about and making a dull roar, the multitude of citizens of Konoha were restless, shinobi and civilian alike. They knew something big was going to come about. The last time the Hokage required them all to be here... well, it was to announce the container of the demon many of them so loved to hate.

A stillness and eerie quiet spread from the tower outward as the Hokage was seen on the balcony overlooking the crowd, in full Hokage regalia as they had become used to seeing him. Absolute silence and several thousand faces looking directly at him greeted Sarutobi as he stepped onto the podium with the sound seals that would allow his voice to carry without too much strain.

A loud, lightly echoing clearing of his throat proved the seals were working perfectly.

"People of Konoha, I bring you news both great and terrible. But in order to even give it to you, I have to rescind two high class secrets. One I, myself, made secret. The other made secret by old laws in Konoha to protect the progeny of high-ranking shinobi until certain conditions are met."

A murmur went through the crowd, and the Hokage allowed them this rather than silencing them right away. He had things he had to say today that he wasn't looking forward to saying, after all.

When they had settled back down after five minutes of chattering, the Hokage decided to drop the first bombshell quickly. "I'm of course, referring to the only child of our beloved Yondaime."

There was nothing quiet about the noise being made at that announcement. Several thousand people shouting in surprise, joy, and concern at once tends to kill all chances of anything being understood from the massive racket. This time the Hokage only gave them a half-minute before raising his hands firmly for silence. The noise died down to a quiet murmur quickly. Everyone wanted to hear this news.

Among the crowd, two were more eager than anyone else to discover the identity of the Yondaime's child. He was their sensei, after all, rather than just a popular war hero/ public role model to them. Rin was also a bit miffed that he never told her he was going to have a kid. The little one would practically be family to her...

"For those concerned for his welfare, be assured that the reason for disclosure is not because the child has died and can no longer be threatened by the secret getting out."

Some of the shinobi and civilians breathed easier. The rest felt their breath catch at the mere _thought_ of the Yondaime's son only being known after his own death. To die unknown to those around you...

"Disclosure is necessary now because Kami-sama has seen fit to grace our young man with a kekkei genkai." Shocked silence. "And since Kami-sama has little use for mortal secrets, when the Sacred Scroll regarding the kekkei genkai materialized in my office, it bore the Yondaime's heir's true birth name. The writing on the scroll cannot be altered or hidden by any mortal means. In order to present it to the Councils and the public, the child's true name must be known."

The crowd remained silent. Had there been sitting room, they all would have been on the edge of their seats. All expected the Hokage's pause was for effect.

"Before I get to the part you're all wondering about, we have another, more important matter to attend to first." The crowd let out its breath, part exasperated, part curious. "Inside of the scroll were two things that I am meant to tell the entire village. The first the Councils have already heard, after convincing themself of the validity of the scroll. It explained what truly happened that October 10th, 12 years ago."

Some of the crowd began to murmur and shift about. No one was comfortable with the mention of that topic.

"Kami-sama explained how a group of powerful criminals used a ritual which included the sacrifice of 2,000 people, to summon and gain control of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and then directed it at the destruction of Konohagakure no Sato." Stunned silence greeted this, and the Sandaime was quick to continue before anyone could gather their wits to begin an outcry of shock and rage. "Among them, Kami-sama implied, was Orochimaru."

While the crowd below was giving voice to their rage, Sarutobi looked back at the doors of the balcony, hidden from the view of the people below, to where people he had pulled aside earlier to prevent them from being among the crowd during these announcements were standing now. Anko was shaking, in restrained rage or grief was unclear, Naruto was looking at her concerned, and 'Tenzo' showed little-to-no reaction. Sarutobi focused on the crowd again, and raised his hands for calm. After a few minutes of signalling for quiet, Sarutobi activated a seal set the Yondaime never had a chance to test after installing in this podium.

The crowd below instantly found themselves unable to make any sound. They quieted quickly when they heard Sarutobi speak. "The seals will now automatically deactivate when you _all_ are silent of your own accord, and will reactivate if your general noise level goes above a certain limit. Until then, I am the only voice that can be heard." He paused a moment. "The second piece was a letter from Kami-sama herself, but first I must revoke an S-class secret I made shortly after that tragic night. The Yondaime was unable to kill Kyuubi, as no mortal can kill any immortal being, so instead he sealed it away." A breath's pause. "Inside the only child he felt he had the right to decide or ask such a fate for; his own son." The Sandaime was thankful for the Yondaime's craftful workmanship with seals, or else they'd never get past the near pandemonium that announcement caused.

The crowd below seemed torn between outrage, despair, shame, guilt, denial, grief, and a great mix between. At least the older generation was. The younger, not 'in the know', generation was confused by the reactions of the older.

Kakashi felt like the Hokage had just announced that Icha Icha had been banned from Konoha and all found in possession of the banned item would be castrated, without exception. He had been offered to have Naruto on his team, but turned him down due to feeling that Naruto, as the dead last and dropout of the class, would weigh his team down; that he would be stuck wasting so much time trying to get Naruto up to the level of the others on the team so he didn't get them killed saving him from trouble. Even worse, Kakashi had responded by mocking Naruto - in a subtle way - when the offer was made. He had lost his chance to be his sensei's son's sensei.

"That is hardly the most distressing part of this story." The crowd began to visibly 'calm', though they were clearly anticipating less than happy news at that announcement.

"For the younger generation's benefit, I'll tell you all what happened following the Yondaime's sacrifice. The Yondaime wished for his son to be seen as a hero, for by being the living prison of the Kyuubi, he protected us all simply by living. Instead the village chose to see the container as that which it contained, the Kyuubi in human form, if you will. In hopes to protect the boy from the hatred of the older generation passing on to the younger, I passed a law stating that no one was to utter a word of his 'condition' where those that did not already know could hear it... under pain of death." The younger generation was shocked by this.

"To give you an idea how bad it was, I'll simply read the letter Kami-sama instructed me to read to all of you." Pulling out the letter, the Hokage cleared his throat before beginning to read the letter to the forced silent people below.

_To the populace of Konohagakure no Sato,_

_I cannot begin to describe how _disappointed_ I am in this village._

_You have beaten, malnourished, tortured, overcharged, refused service to, sabotaged, starved, abused, slandered, terrorized, stole from, isolated, attempted murder on, and done everything in your power to try to break the body, mind, and heart of an innocent child because he contains a being whom is herself innocent of the attack on your village._

_If your leader has not already told you the truth of that attack, he should do so now._

_Furthermore, you have ignored your Yondaime Hokage's final wish that you see his only son as a hero for saving the village, choosing instead to use his son as a scapegoat for all the pain you suffered from the 'Kyuubi attack'._

_That pain you suffered is the only reason I'm willing to give you the chance to redeem yourself in my eyes, so that when the time comes to decide whether you'll be in my place or Yami's you have a chance to be here._

_The requirement is simple. Stop it. That child deserves the same respect as every other human being, and if nothing else proves to you that he is not an 'evil demon', this should: I, Kami, Guardian of Heaven, have chosen Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto to be the bearer of a kekkei genkai. If you accuse him of being evil or treat him as such now because of what he carries, you will have accused me of giving power to help evil prosper in this world, and thus of being evil myself, something I'll certainly remember when your time comes.  
_

_Kami_

Dead silence met the reading of the letter, for when the Hokage had read it out loud, his voice did not come from the seals. Kami's voice came down from the heavens, striking everyone there down to their very soul, that not only was this for real, but Kami was genuinely _ticked_ _off_ over their treatment of Naruto. The degree of discomfort varied from person to person based upon their own conduct towards Naruto in the past. A select few, like the Ichiraku's, felt a deep warmth and feeling of approval. The memory of feeling so absolutely accepted would stay with them the rest of their lives.

For the younger generation, thousands of little things slid into place in their minds with the knowledge of what Naruto carried. Why their parents acted that way around and towards him. Why they were strictly told off from befriending him. Why parents, any adult, really, actually encouraged teasing and bullying him. So many terrible little 'why's they always wondered but never dared to ask suddenly became known.

Among the younger shinobi, there were a couple of 'older' gennin teams that had notable reactions to the news being given. A young man with huge eyebrows and a bowl cut was silently ranting (silencing seals) about 'this Naruto-kun persevering through the dark persecution and frigid oppression with the flames of the springtime of youth'. His female teammate, with her trademark buns, was watching her other male teammate with significant concern, as she'd never seen him showing so much emotion. The teammate in question, with long black hair and near white eyes, was trembling in rage, mixed with a number of other emotions he'd thought he'd forgotten how to feel. He'd always considered his own life the worst possible situation, but for the first time he could remember, he knew what it was to feel anger on another's behalf, and for the first time since he saw his father killed to protect his uncle's neck, he felt grateful he had a family to have his back, even if he still loathed some of them.

The other older gennin team felt shudders from the anger they felt from Kami's voice due to their continuing connection with Orochimaru. It was the first time in a while any of the boys seriously considered betraying Orochimaru. Orochimaru could only torture and kill them, but Kami would judge the rest of their eternity after that, and Orochimaru didn't seem the type to share his path to immortality so they'd be facing Kami's judgement eventually either way.

Meanwhile, among Naruto's classmates (all the classes that came here from the academy stayed together as they were led by their instructors to the village central square), many were looking around for Naruto. Aside from Hinata, the only one who watched Naruto closely enough to notice when he was seperated and led elsewhere by the ANBU, the rest were surprised that he was nowhere to be seen. They all figured that Naruto would love being in the center of all the attention and would want to be here soaking it up.

Meanwhile, the Hokage's grandson, his only two _real_ friends, and his rival - in his eyes - for the spot of future rookie of the year, all had their own thoughts. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon all had heard their grandparents arguing over the Third's treating Naruto like a grandson - a fact Konohamaru had always felt a little jealous of - but this was beyond any of the meager reasons they had been able to speculate as the cause for it.

Hanabi, standing well away from the trio, had her own thoughts on the matter. _'So, this is the one tou-sama said he was offering a contract to for onee-chan. I need to find out where he lives so I can _talk_ to him about how he'd better treat onee-chan.'_

Back up on the podium, the Hokage started speaking again. "The full original councils and myself worked out the details with Naruto-san regarding keeping his kekkei genkai a part of Konoha. You should all know that part of that deal involved treating Naruto and his future... family with the same dignity and courtesy every member of this village has a right to expect. None of you want to see how I will express my _displeasure_ if this is not the case in the future."

In the crowd below, a one-eyed, one-armed man and an elderly pair standing near him were wondering how such a meeting took place without their presence, and how they could make their own input into matters.

A number of members of minor clans - their clan numbers never significant enough to earn a spot on the Clan Council - were already contemplating how to make the most of the new potential powerblock in the village. Looks between members of the same or allied clans were exchanged, saying more of plans that wouldn't be spoken aloud in public.

Members of the Kurama clan eyed their current clan heir, weak as she was, and suddenly saw a use for the broken, worthless child; with her married to a clan head of another clan, they would be able to replace her with a more 'worthy' heir.

Those of the Yuhi, and similarly small clans that were just on the size of three or four families, wondered what they could bring to the table or get out of the situation to bring more prestige and power to their clan. The Elder of clan Yuhi was particularly upset that his clan's charter specifically stated that only the clan's own members could make arrangements for their marriage, regardless of their gender or age.

"There are many other facets of founding a clan, too many to talk about to everyone's satisfaction in this forum, so for the next several months, every bank in Konoha will provide pamphlets that go over the basic overview, and for those who desire more details, this very building has departments meant for answering such questions for the public and the public library has some information as well. That is all the information we needed to give out at this time."

As the crowd moved away, the Hokage deactivated the seal, allowing them to converse amongst themselves. He knew there would be a lot of consequences of what was said today, but that was unavoidable. He couldn't _not_ say it all.

Moving away from the tower, Rin considered how she should go about introducing herself to the young man she felt she owed to treat like a little brother.

A number of those moving away from the tower had people they needed to report this information to. Among them were visiting dignitaries representing various diamyo and shinobi villages - the latter group here to get official information on the next chuunin exams which were expected to be held in Konoha. There were also people here representing a number of companies who sent them to hire ninja for missions, and as such they needed to at least report to their companies PR department or their bosses to find out if the latest information changed plans.

Still hidden from the view of down below, Anko contemplated her situation. At first hearing about Orochimaru's involvement in the Kyuubi's 'attack', her only thoughts were how the village was going to heap yet another thing she wasn't responsible for on her shoulders because she was once Orochimaru's apprentice. A few minutes later, the feeling of someone watching got to her through the haze of pain, anger, and fear in her mind, and she looked up to see Naruto's concerned look aimed at her. She looked sharply away, not accustomed or comfortable with such looks aimed at her, but it did get her to thinking about what this meant to Naruto. Here was another person whose whole life was fucked up - even more than hers - because of something Orochimaru did. A wickedly sadistic grin formed on her face at the thought of sharing the _joy_ of killing the orochi-teme with someone who knew the pain he caused as intimately as her.

Naruto shivered at the grin the purple-haired lady had on her face, hoping he wasn't involved in her thoughts. Eager to leave before he could find out, he was thankful the old man had finished his speech instead of elaborating on things like the CFA. "Hokage-ojiji, I gotta get back to the classroom before my sensei gets there, seeya!" And Naruto was off the balcony and halfway down the stairs before the Third could say anything to keep him there with the lady with the crazed grin.

Shinobi Academy, Iruka's Classroom

"C'mon, Naruto! Sit with your teammates!" Ino called out at seeing Naruto open the door to the classroom. She'd been waiting to get the scoop out of him, and wondered why he was tenderly rubbing his left shoulder as though it was sore.

_'Man, didn't think a little girl could poke so hard,'_ Naruto thought. _'Though it's good to see Hinata's little sister is so protective of her.'_

As Naruto sat between Ino and Ami, he noticed all his other classmates crowding around their table and he inwardly flinched with dread at what he knew was coming.

"So, Naruto. Emerging kekkei genkai, long lost son of the Yondaime, a giant fox locked inside you... any more juicy tidbits you've been keeping up your sleeve?"

Naruto pulled back at Ino's predatory grin. Feeling the scrolls in his tool holster tumble around, he was reminded of needing to talk with his teammates and several classmates about the marriage contracts their elders had offered in their stead.

"Well -"

Naruto's answer was put off by Iruka's entrance. "Hey! Everyone in a seat, now." The young ninja grumbling as they had to move away from Naruto before they could find out any more. "Now it's almost time for the jounin-sensei to start coming to gather their teams. You don't want to make a poor first impression, do you?" Iruka chided his soon to be former students.

Shortly after everyone had settled into their seats, a woman with red eyes, wavy black hair, and wearing a dress - that appeared to be made of a single bandage wrapped many times around her torso - entered the room. "Team 8, come with me..." and then left. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino took off after her, Kiba having to wipe a bit of drool off his chin.

Less than 5 seconds after they had left, another adult kunoichi stepped into the room. She had waist length, straight purple hair, brown eyes, and was in standard ANBU garb - minus the mask - and with a sword strapped to her back, with the hilt sticking up diagonally over her right shoulder. "Team 7, I am Uzuki Yugao. Follow me to our training ground."

As Ino, Ami, and Naruto followed their jounin-sensei, they passed a man about to enter their class who looked like a younger version of the Third Hokage on his way toward their classroom. They continued following their sensei for a few minutes in silence until a shifting _in_ Naruto's jacket, around where his stomach was, pulled Ino's silent glare from Ami and Ami's smug gaze from straight ahead and onto Naruto.

Right then, he shifted his jacket, letting a small grey fox's head pop out to see where they were going. There was a tiny white dot where the fox's 'third eye' would be, and it made some soft sounds the girls couldn't make out. They barely heard Naruto's response to it, but they heard their names and their new sensei's name mentioned.

Naruto noticed their quizzical looks and mouthed 'later' to the girls, and the fox tucked its head back inside the jacket for the rest of their jog.

Ten Minutes Later

The five jogged up to a large fenced in forest (no, not that forest), near a tall gate in the fence. The eldest of the group turned back to her students and began to speak. "This is Training Field #13. Until the point when you all are chuunin, barring extended out of village missions, this training ground will be your home away from home. The fenced in area is circular in shape, with a one and a half mile diameter. This area has somewhat jokingly been nicknamed 'The Forest of Near-Death', partly because of how dangerous it is for the average shinobi, and partly because the next training ground, #14, is relatively nearby and is called 'The Forest of Death.' Now before we begin your true genin exam, please seat yourselves. I feel it best we introduce ourselves to each other. I will go first, so you all know what I expect."

"Sensei, what do you mean, our 'true' genin exam?" Ino interrupted, raising one hand in the air and waving it about as though she needed to get a teacher's attention in a crowded and noisy classroom. "We already passed the genin exam. Or at least me and Ami did. Is this because of Naruto?" She turned to glare at Naruto, and began to open her mouth for a scathing threat should he cause her to fail.

"Yamanaka Ino!" Ino jumped to a rigid posture. Despite her sensei barely saying it any louder than normal for her, there was so much _authority_ in that voice that she was at attention by instinct. "You are acting impulsively. Firstly, _all_ academy 'graduates' must pass one last test before they can be considered true genin of Konoha. It has been that way for as long as Konoha existed as more than an idea. The final test is always given by the jounin sensei for a team of three genin, and they always pass or fail as a team. The academy graduation exam was designed to weed out those who did not possess the minumum skills we require of our genin. Each jounin sensei gives a test based upon the qualities they desire in their genin, but all include an assessment of how you use the skills you possess in field situations. Knowing how to do things and being able to is one thing, but knowing when, why, and where to is something else entirely."

"H-hai, sensei."

"Right. Onto introductions. I am Uzuki Yugao, and I agreed to accept a position as potential jounin sensei as a form of sabbatical from my position in ANBU, the details of which I cannot give you even if you pass my test. My strengths lay in kenjutsu, chakra control, and tracking. My weaknesses are in raw strength and having a slightly below average chakra pool. In my leisure time, I enjoy the dates Gekkou Hayate takes me on, and my favorite food is barbeque pork. I intensely dislike true perverts and I am disappointed at how few true kunoichi there are in Konoha's latest generation. My dream is to one day have a family of my own, without giving up what it means to be a kunoichi. My current ambition is, should you pass this test, to train all three of you to the best of my ability. Your turn, Yamanaka."

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, and I became a kunoichi because I wanted to make my clan proud of me. I can use my clan jutsu, and I count myself as pretty smart. I... I'm not too good at intensely physical things, though. I like Sasuke-kun, and my parents, and I enjoy taking care of the flower garden I have back home. I don't like Ami-baka or Sakura. My dream is to marry Sasuke-kun and show Sakura she never stood a chance as my rival!"

"I see you'll have your work cut out for you." Yugao said.

"Eh?!" Ino screeched.

"Ami, you're next."

"I'm Tsukamu Ami, and I became a kunoichi because I couldn't see myself becoming anything else. I'm physically the strongest girl in my year at the academy, and almost the fastest among both boys and girls there, and I have a slightly larger than average amount of chakra. Unfortunately, I fell behind on memorizing some history so I wasn't able to ace the written portion of our exam, my aim with kunai isn't the best, and my chakra is sometimes difficult to make do what I want it to. I enjoy watching movies, and I like sushi and... I don't like chicken or really spicy food, and right now I dislike Ino, too. I'm not sure about a dream or ambition, I just want to make it through life without any huge regrets."

"You'll need to find something worth shooting for eventually, but other than that you're workable. Last is Naruto-san."

"I'm Harukimoto Naruto, and I became a ninja because the first person who acknowledged me was an awesome ninja who everyone respected, and I wanted to be just like them. I recently talked with an ANBU wearing the bear mask, and he helped me figure out where I stand realistically for strengths and weaknesses. For strengths, I have an inhuman amount of chakra, a bit above average strength, can use kage bunshin, my henge is an actual transformation rather than an illusion, my stealth and trap skills are excellent, and I'm better than average at throwing weapons. For weaknesses, my speed is lackluster, the size of my chakra pool means that with only the academy's leaf balancing exercise my control sucks so much that even the most basic of genjutsu is currently beyond me, and there are a lot of areas where my training at the academy was sabotaged so much it counts for nothing. I like ramen, Teuchi-ojisan, Ayame-neechan, Sakura-chan, Ami-chan - cause she stood up for me in class - and Hokage-ojiji. I dislike those who judge me without actually getting to know me, arrogant jerks like Sasuke-teme, and the three minutes it takes to make ramen! My dream is to become Hokage!" A small fox's head poked out of Naruto's jacket and looked around, "And this is Hoshi! She can't fight yet, but her senses are way better than mine, and Bear-san said my senses were better than other people's!"

Yugao nodded once, then performed a series of handseals too fast for her students to follow. As the students watched, a two foot diameter circle of earth turned to mud, and rose from the ground. At first it only looked vaguely humanoid, but quickly took on the appearance of their sensei - had she been their age.

"This is a modified form of the tsuchi bunshin. Your final exam is thus: you must safely escort this tsuchi bunshin, which will behave like a civilian child of your age in this situation, from this gate entrance, through Training Ground Number 13, to the opposite gate entrance. Should one or more of you be in danger of actually dying, I will step in to stop it, but that person will be pulled from the test. Obviously, if all three of you are pulled for 'dying', you fail. If I feel one of you 'died' needlessly when your teammates or yourself could have saved you from that fate, I may choose to fail the whole team right then. And you have 12 hours to reach the opposite side starting right now."

And the gate before them sprang open at the same moment their sensei disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

**Closing Authors Notes:** How will the true genin exam go? Can Ino and Ami put aside their fued long enough to get through this exam? How will Naruto's 'gift' help them get through in one piece? What truly awaits them inside training ground number 13? Find out this and more, next time...

(1) - for those who want the full version and have forgotten, simply go back and read a good chunk of the first half of chapter 1 of this story.

(2) - for this, think of drawing the sun in a childish fashion, with the pupil being the sun and the five marks being five lines pointing away from the sun to show it is shining or giving off light.

(3) - making Sakura's father be the one who she got her pink hair from was the result of two decisions I had made prior to then. First, that the pink-haired Haruno woman on the council wasn't Sakura's mom, but her aunt. This makes it clear that the pink hair came from Haruno's side of the family. Second, since I wanted Sakura to have married parents, that would mean she would have gotten her father's clan name, not her mother's, so her father is the Haruno she got her pink hair from.

(4) - they've spent pretty much all of Naruto's lifetime automatically judging him through a tainted lens, it will be a while before they can overcome their ingrained prejudice, assuming they ever do.

(5) - Harukimoto means 'source/origin of bright shining.'

(6) - yeah, an OC. You'll have to wait for the Chuunin Exams to see what this one is capable of.


End file.
